3D Construction Blocks Derived From Self-Healing 'Living Materials'

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed building blocks that can automatically recover after surviving a damage-causing event. The artificially developed living materials, also known as engineered living materials(ELMs) utilize biological skills to restore the damaged part of the material and could use a sense-and-response mechanism to respond to damage during unfavorable conditions.

This study could significantly contribute to developing real-world materials that can detect and mend damage on their own, such as fixing a pothole that occurred in the road, a crack in a windshield, or a tear in an airplane's fuselage. Scientists could slash the maintenance cost and make the material more durable by incorporating the building blocks into self-healing construction materials. This research indicates that the approach incorporated in designing and constructing the materials is like the principle applied in assembling modular elements that are used by architecture for designing a range of building structures.

To make ELMs, the scientists employed genetic engineering to alter the genome of a bacterial species called Komagataeibacter rhaeticus.The genetically engineered bacteria secrete spherical spheroids that emit fluorescent color and are integrated with sensors that detect damage. They assembled the spheroids in various patterns and shapes, illustrating their potential as modular building pieces.

They caused the damage by punching a hole through a solid layer of bacterial cellulose, which is a scaffold-like material generated by some species of bacteria and used to make ELMs. Later, they incorporated the newly developed spheroids into the holes and after three days of incubation, they found significant healing, forming structurally stable and consistent 3D material. This research could help extend the durability of a product by preventing system faults that are not visible through the naked eye and let the material maintain itself.

The researchers' next step is to design new spheroidal building blocks with distinct properties, such as merging them with cotton, gelatin, or graphiteto form highly complicated structures. These ELMs can be used in biological filters, medical biosensor patches, and implantable electronics.

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https://www.marketresearchstore.com/market-insights/global-mounting-blocks-industry-market-report-2019-industry-697745