3D Printing of Bacteria

Materials engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed means for immobilizing bacteria in hydrogel, while maintaining organisms’ metabolic activity. In their words: “We demonstrate a 3D printing approach to create bacteria-derived functional materials by combining the natural diverse metabolism of bacteria with the shape design freedom of additive manufacturing. To achieve this, we embedded bacteria in a biocompatible and functionalized 3D printing ink and printed two types of “living materials” capable of degrading pollutants and of producing medically relevant bacterial cellulose.”     MORE

Image Credit: science animated by Bara Krautz and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology News and Events