Next-gen clothing: The possibility of living and self-repairing fabric

A team of scientists from the University of Newcastle and Northumbria in the UK has found that the thin, root-like filaments produced by many fungi have the potential to be used as a biodegradable material.

In their tests, the researchers focused on the fungus Ganoderma lucidum, which produces skin from branched hyphae that weave together into a structure called a fungus.

With a little effort, thin leather can serve as an alternative to leather, catering to the tastes of vegans, ecologists and fashionistas, although the process of its creation also needs to be accelerated and refined before it can be turned into a jacket next season.

“The results show that the fungal material can survive in dry environments and undernutrition, and self-healing is possible with minimal intervention after a two-day recovery period,” the researchers wrote in their published paper.

Mushroom-based materials are already being used in fields ranging from construction to textiles. However, the process used to produce these materials tends to kill Chlamydia spores, the spores of fungi that help the body renew itself.

The new approach, which includes a mixture of fungi, chlamydia spores, carbohydrates, proteins and other nutrients in a fluid, promoted skin growth that could be removed and dried. At present, the results are too thin to be used in clothing, but the researchers are confident that future innovations could change tougher leather, perhaps by combining layers or plasticizers in glycerin.

Importantly, the manufacturing process did not kill the chlamydia spores, which could be revived to grow new filaments over gaps in the skin.

Tests of the material have shown that it is indeed capable of replacing the holes created in it, if placed in conditions similar to those in which it was grown. The material was just as strong as before, although holes could still be seen.

“The ability of this regenerative fungal material to heal micro and macro defects opens up exciting future prospects for unique products as substitutes for leather products such as furniture, car seats and fashion,” the researchers write.

The team also worked with Pleurotus ostreatus, a fungus that does not have chlamydial spores. It could not self-repair in the same way, indicating that it was the chlamydia spores that gave the material its ability to regenerate.

You have a long way to go before you put on mushroom clothes. And the growth and healing processes take several days, for example, something that can be accelerated over time.

However, this is an exciting time for what researchers call artificial living materials, or ELMs: because of the living cells inside them, they can adapt to their environment and can be changed in a variety of ways.

“Artificial living materials composed entirely of fungal cells have great potential due to their functional properties such as self-assembly, perception and self-repair,” the researchers write.

The study is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Source: Science Alert

The post Next-gen clothing: The possibility of living and self-repairing fabric appeared first on Asume Tech.

from Technology - Asume Tech https://asumetech.com/next-gen-clothing-the-possibility-of-living-and-self-repairing-fabric/