Many think that the mycelium, the “roots” that represent the true body of mushrooms, is the material of the future. It is already used to produce packaging, insulating panels, tissues and alternative fibers, biodegradable and low environmental impact. And in the future it could do even more, given that the search in the field of new materials proceeds in giant steps. A good example comes from the research centers of the Swiss Test Federal Laboratory of the materials and research, where a Michelio -based biomaterial has just been created that incorporates living cells, sustainable, edible, biodegradable but also biodegradant, and therefore capable – if you want – to eliminate the organic waste preserved inside.
The starting material of the new biomaterial is the Schizophyllum Commune, a mushroom spread all over the world growing on the wood, alive and dead. Swiss researchers decided to use the mycelium in full, and therefore the IFE, the filaments similar to roots composed of the mushroom cells, but also the extracellular matrix that surrounds them, which is usually eliminated through expensive and polluting chemical processes.
The miracle of the Schizophyllum Commune
In this way, they have guaranteed the sustainability of the new material, having access to two macro-molecules with extremely interesting properties at the same time: Schizophyllano, a polysaccharide that form a nanofibre thick a dwarf and a thousand longer voles, and hydrophobin, a biological surfactable capable of emulsify liquids that normally do not mix, like oil and water. Thanks to these two molecules, and the inclusion of living cells, the new material lends itself to a multiplicity of uses.
A first possibility, tested in the laboratory by Swiss researchers, is to use the material as an emulsifier. Wherever there is an emulsion between two liquids such as water and oil, it is necessary to use surfactive substances (such as soap) to prevent these from time to separate them. The new biomaterial is able to do it, and thanks to the living cells inside it, over time instead of losing effectiveness, earns it.
“This is probably the only type of emulsion that becomes more stable with the passage of time,” explains Ashutosh Sinha, researcher of the Swiss Test Federal Laboratory of the materials and research, also underlining that since it is an edible and biocompatible material, its use as an emulsifier in the food and cosmetic field is particularly interesting.
Another possibility is to use biomaterial to form films to be used as biosensors, or with which to produce envelopes other products traditionally made of plastic. Compared to other biodegradable plastics, it would in fact have the advantage of being a living material, of which the characteristics can be changed by acting on the conditions in which the mushroom grows, and – if necessary – using species of mushrooms other than the Schizophyllum Commune.
One of the possibilities imagined by its inventors is to create bags for the composting of organic waste. Being a mushroom that digests plant material, it could not only decompose over time, but it would also actively help to degrade the waste inside: “Instead of compostable sachets – they explain – we could create composite sachets, which decompose waste sunglasses”.