Engineered Living Material Bioreactors with Tunable Mechanical Properties using Vat Photopolymerization

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2024-05, Vol.20 (22), p.e2306564-n/a
• Main Authors: Altin‐Yavuzarslan, Gokce, Sadaba, Naroa, Brooks, Sierra M., Alper, Hal S., Nelson, Alshakim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: additive manufacturing; Agricultural engineering; bioreactor; Bioreactors; Clean energy; engineered living materials; Form factors; hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemistry; Mechanical properties; Photopolymerization; Platforms; Polyethylene glycol; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Polymerization; Polymers; Polymers - chemistry; Prepolymers; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202306564

3D‐printed engineered living materials (ELM) are promising bioproduction platforms for agriculture, biotechnology, sustainable energy, and green technology applications. However, the design of these platforms faces several challenges, such as the processability of these materials into complex form factors and control over their mechanical properties. Herein, ELM are presented as 3D‐printed bioreactors with arbitrary shape geometries and tunable mechanical properties (moduli and toughness). Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) is used as the precursor to create polymer networks that encapsulate the microorganisms during the vat photopolymerization process. A major limitation of PEGDA networks is their propensity to swell and fracture when submerged in water. The authors overcame this issue by adding glycerol to the resin formulation to 3D print mechanically tough ELM hydrogels. While polymer concentration affects the modulus and reduces bioproduction, ELM bioreactors still maintain their metabolic activity regardless of polymer concentration. These ELM bioreactors have the potential to be used in different applications for sustainable architecture, food production, and biomedical devices that require different mechanical properties from soft to stiff. Vat photopolymerization is employed to 3D print engineered living materials with tunable mechanical properties. The encapsulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells are viable and metabolically active within these mechanically stiff and tough constructs.