Robust Self-Regeneratable Stiff Living Materials Fabricated from Microbial Cells

Living systems have not only the exemplary capability to fabricate materials (e.g., wood, bone) under ambient conditions but they also consist of living cells that imbue them with properties like growth and self-regeneration. Like a seed that can grow into a sturdy living wood, can living cells alone serve as the primary building block to fabricate stiff materials? Here is reported the fabrication of stiff living materials (SLMs) produced entirely from microbial cells, without the incorporation of any structural biopolymers (e.g., cellulose, chitin, collagen) or biominerals (e.g., hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate) that are known to impart stiffness to biological materials. Remarkably, SLMs are also lightweight, strong, and resistant to organic solvents and can self-regenerate. This living materials technology can serve as a powerful biomanufacturing platform to design and develop advanced structural and cellular materials in a sustainable manner.

Automated summary

Living systems have the capability to fabricate materials using living cells, which can produce stiff living materials without any structural biopolymers or biominerals. These stiff living materials are lightweight, strong, resistant to organic solvents, and capable of self-regeneration, serving as a biomanufacturing platform for advanced structural and cellular materials.