Phys.org December 20, 2024
Although porous structures should favor colonization by microorganisms, they have not yet been exploited as abiotic scaffolds for the development of living materials. Researchers in Switzerland developed porous ceramics that are colonized by bacteria to form an engineered living material with self-regulated and genetically programmable carbon capture and gas-sensing functionalities. The carbon capture capability was achieved using wild-type photosynthetic cyanobacteria, whereas the gas-sensing function was generated utilizing genetically engineered E. coli. Hierarchical porous clay was used as a ceramic scaffold and evaluated in terms of bacterial growth, water uptake, and mechanical properties. Using state-of-the-art chemical analysis techniques, the ability of living porous ceramics were demonstrated to capture CO2 directly from the air and to metabolically turn minute amounts of toxic gas into a benign scent detectable by humans… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Living porous ceramic for carbon capture and gas sensing. Credit: Advanced materials, 10 December 2024