{"id":676257,"date":"2025-06-20T02:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T23:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T02:48:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T23:48:08","slug":"photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"Photosynthetic living material uses bacteria to capture CO\u2082 in two different ways"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a407e9aeef28\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a407e9aeef28\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/#Key_characteristic_Dual_carbon_sequestration\" >Key characteristic: Dual carbon sequestration<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/#3D-printed_living_structures\" >3D-printed living structures<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/#Cyanobacteria_as_master_builders\" >Cyanobacteria as master builders<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/#Hydrogel_as_a_habitat\" >Hydrogel as a habitat<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/#Infrastructure_as_a_carbon_sink\" >Infrastructure as a carbon sink<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/photosynthetic-living-material-uses-bacteria-to-capture-co%e2%82%82-in-two-different-ways\/#Two_installations_in_Venice_and_Milan\" >Two installations in Venice and Milan<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/photosynthetic-living.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/photosynthetic-living.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Picoplanktonics shows large-format objects made of photosynthetic structures. Credit: Valentina Mori\/ Biennale di Venezia\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/photosynthetic-living.jpg\" alt=\"Photosynthetic living material uses bacteria to capture CO\u2082 in two different ways\" title=\"Picoplanktonics shows large-format objects made of photosynthetic structures. Credit: Valentina Mori\/ Biennale di Venezia\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Picoplanktonics shows large-format objects made of photosynthetic structures. Credit: Valentina Mori\/ Biennale di Venezia<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Researchers are developing a living material that actively extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria grow inside it, forming biomass and solid minerals and thus binding CO<sub>2<\/sub> in two different manners.<\/p>\n<p>The idea seems futuristic: At ETH Zurich, various disciplines are working together to combine conventional materials with bacteria, algae and fungi. The common goal: to create living materials that acquire useful properties thanks to the metabolism of microorganisms\u2014&#8221;such as the ability to bind CO<sub>2<\/sub> from the air by means of photosynthesis,&#8221; says Mark Tibbitt, Professor of Macromolecular Engineering at ETH Zurich.<\/p>\n<p>An interdisciplinary research team led by Tibbitt has now turned this vision into reality: it has stably incorporated photosynthetic bacteria\u2014known as cyanobacteria\u2014into a printable gel and developed a material that is alive, grows and actively removes carbon from the air. The researchers recently presented their &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-025-58761-y\" target=\"_blank\">photosynthetic living material<\/a>&#8221; in a study in the journal <i>Nature Communications<\/i>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_characteristic_Dual_carbon_sequestration\"><\/span>Key characteristic: Dual carbon sequestration<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The material can be shaped using 3D printing and only requires sunlight and artificial seawater with readily available nutrients in addition to CO<sub>2<\/sub> to grow. &#8220;As a building material, it could help to store CO<sub>2<\/sub> directly in buildings in the future,&#8221; says Tibbitt, who co-initiated the research into living materials at ETH Zurich.<\/p>\n<p>The special thing about it: the living material absorbs much more CO<sub>2<\/sub> than it binds through organic growth. &#8220;This is because the material can store carbon not only in biomass, but also in the form of minerals\u2014a special property of these cyanobacteria,&#8221; reveals Tibbitt.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3D-printed_living_structures\"><\/span>3D-printed living structures<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Yifan Cui, one of the two lead authors of the study, explains, &#8220;Cyanobacteria are among the oldest life forms in the world. They are highly efficient at photosynthesis and can utilize even the weakest light to produce biomass from CO<sub>2<\/sub> and water.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, the bacteria change their chemical environment outside the cell as a result of photosynthesis, so that solid carbonates (such as lime) precipitate. These minerals represent an additional carbon sink and\u2014in contrast to biomass\u2014store CO<sub>2<\/sub> in a more stable form.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/a-building-material-th-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/a-building-material-th-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Digital fabrication of photosynthetic living structures for dual carbon sequestration. Credit: &lt;i&gt;Nature Communications&lt;\/i&gt; (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-025-58761-y\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/a-building-material-th-1.jpg\" alt=\"A building material that lives and stores carbon\" title=\"Digital fabrication of photosynthetic living structures for dual carbon sequestration. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-025-58761-y\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Digital fabrication of photosynthetic living structures for dual carbon sequestration. Credit: <i>Nature Communications<\/i> (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-025-58761-y<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cyanobacteria_as_master_builders\"><\/span>Cyanobacteria as master builders<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;We utilize this ability specifically in our material,&#8221; says Cui, who is a doctoral student in Tibbitt&#8217;s research group. A practical side effect: the minerals are deposited inside the material and reinforce it mechanically. In this way, the cyanobacteria slowly harden the initially soft structures.<\/p>\n<p>Laboratory tests showed that the material continuously binds CO\u2082 over a period of 400 days, most of it in mineral form\u2014around 26 milligrams of CO<sub>2<\/sub> per gram of material. This is significantly more than many biological <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roaches and comparable to the chemical mineralization of recycled concrete (around 7 mg CO<sub>2<\/sub> per gram).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hydrogel_as_a_habitat\"><\/span>Hydrogel as a habitat<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The carrier material that harbors the living cells is a hydrogel\u2014a gel made of cross-linked polymers with a high water content. Tibbitt&#8217;s team selected the polymer network so that it can transport light, CO<sub>2<\/sub>, water and nutrients and allow the cells to spread evenly inside without leaving the material.<\/p>\n<p>To ensure that the cyanobacteria live as long as possible and remain efficient, the researchers have also optimized the geometry of the structures using 3D printing processes to increase the surface area, increase light penetration and promote the flow of nutrients.<\/p>\n<p>Co-first author Dalia Dranseike: &#8220;In this way, we created structures that enable light penetration and passively distribute nutrient fluid throughout the body by capillary forces.&#8221; Thanks to this design, the encapsulated cyanobacteria lived productively for more than a year, the materials researcher in Tibbitt&#8217;s team is pleased to report.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Infrastructure_as_a_carbon_sink\"><\/span>Infrastructure as a carbon sink<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The researchers see their living material as a low-energy and environmentally friendly approach that can bind CO<sub>2<\/sub> from the atmosphere and supplement existing chemical processes for carbon sequestration. &#8220;In the future, we want to investigate how the material can be used as a coating for building facades to bind CO<sub>2<\/sub> throughout the entire life cycle of a building,&#8221; Tibbitt looks ahead.<\/p>\n<p>There is still a long way to go\u2014but colleagues from the field of architecture have already taken up the concept and realized initial interpretations in an experimental way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/a-building-material-th.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/a-building-material-th.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"3D-printed &quot;pineapple&quot; with cyanobacteria growing inside after a development period of 60 days. The green colour comes from the chlorophyll of the photosynthetic bacteria. Credit: Yifan Cui \/ ETH Zurich\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/a-building-material-th.jpg\" alt=\"A building material that lives and stores carbon\" title=\"3D-printed &quot;pineapple&quot; with cyanobacteria growing inside after a development period of 60 days. The green colour comes from the chlorophyll of the photosynthetic bacteria. Credit: Yifan Cui \/ ETH Zurich\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                3D-printed &#8220;pineapple&#8221; with cyanobacteria growing inside after a development period of 60 days. The green colour comes from the chlorophyll of the photosynthetic bacteria. Credit: Yifan Cui \/ ETH Zurich<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Two_installations_in_Venice_and_Milan\"><\/span>Two installations in Venice and Milan<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Thanks to ETH doctoral student Andrea Shin Ling, the basic research from the ETH laboratories has made it onto the big stage at the Architecture Biennale in Venice. &#8220;It was particularly challenging to scale up the production process from laboratory format to room dimensions,&#8221; says the architect and bio-designer, who is also involved in this study.<\/p>\n<p>Ling is doing her doctorate at ETH Professor Benjamin Dillenburger&#8217;s Chair of Digital Building Technologies. In her dissertation, she developed a platform for biofabrication that can print living structures containing functional cyanobacteria on an architectural scale.<\/p>\n<p>For the Picoplanktonics installation in the Canada Pavilion, the project team used the printed structures as living building blocks to construct two tree-trunk-like objects, the largest around three meters high. Thanks to the cyanobacteria, these can each bind up to 18 kg of CO<sub>2<\/sub> per year\u2014about as much as a 20-year-old pine tree in the temperate zone.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The installation is an experiment\u2014we have adapted the Canada Pavilion so that it provides enough light, humidity and warmth for the cyanobacteria to thrive and then we watch how they behave,&#8221; says Ling. This is a commitment: The team monitors and maintains the installation on-site daily. Until 23 November.<\/p>\n<p>At the 24th Triennale di Milano, Dafne&#8217;s Skin is investigating the potential of living materials for future building envelopes. On a structure covered with wooden shingles, microorganisms form a deep green patina that changes the wood over time: A sign of decay becomes an active design element that binds CO<sub>2<\/sub> and emphasizes the aesthetics of microbial processes.<\/p>\n<p>Dafne&#8217;s Skin is a collaboration between MAEID Studio and Dalia Dranseike. It is part of the exhibition &#8220;We the Bacteria: Notes Toward Biotic Architecture&#8221; and runs until 9 November.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDalia Dranseike et al, Dual carbon sequestration with photosynthetic living materials, <i>Nature Communications<\/i> (2025). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-025-58761-y\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-025-58761-y<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Photosynthetic living material uses bacteria to capture CO\u2082 in two different ways (2025, June 19)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 19 June 2025<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-06-photosynthetic-material-bacteria-capture-ways.html\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                            This document is subject to copyright. 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Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2025-06-photosynthetic-material-bacteria-capture-ways.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Picoplanktonics shows large-format objects made of photosynthetic structures. Credit: Valentina Mori\/ Biennale di Venezia Researchers are developing a living material that actively extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria grow inside it, forming biomass and solid minerals and thus binding CO2 in two different manners. The idea seems futuristic: At ETH Zurich, various disciplines&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":676259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/photosynthetic-living.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-676257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}