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Pylkkänen R, Werner D, Bishoyi A, Weil D, Scoppola E, Wagermaier W, Safeer A, Bahri S, Baldus M, Paananen A, Penttilä M, Szilvay GR, Mohammadi P. The complex structure of Fomes fomentarius represents an architectural design for high-performance ultralightweight materials. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eade5417. [PMID: 36812306 PMCID: PMC9946349 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade5417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
High strength, hardness, and fracture toughness are mechanical properties that are not commonly associated with the fleshy body of a fungus. Here, we show with detailed structural, chemical, and mechanical characterization that Fomes fomentarius is an exception, and its architectural design is a source of inspiration for an emerging class of ultralightweight high-performance materials. Our findings reveal that F. fomentarius is a functionally graded material with three distinct layers that undergo multiscale hierarchical self-assembly. Mycelium is the primary component in all layers. However, in each layer, mycelium exhibits a very distinct microstructure with unique preferential orientation, aspect ratio, density, and branch length. We also show that an extracellular matrix acts as a reinforcing adhesive that differs in each layer in terms of quantity, polymeric content, and interconnectivity. These findings demonstrate how the synergistic interplay of the aforementioned features results in distinct mechanical properties for each layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Pylkkänen
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Espoo, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - Daniel Werner
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ajit Bishoyi
- NMR Spectroscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Dominik Weil
- KLA-Tencor GmbH, Moritzburger Weg 67, Dresden 01109, Germany
| | - Ernesto Scoppola
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wagermaier
- Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Adil Safeer
- NMR Spectroscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Salima Bahri
- NMR Spectroscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Marc Baldus
- NMR Spectroscopy, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Arja Paananen
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Espoo, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
| | - Merja Penttilä
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Espoo, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - Géza R. Szilvay
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Espoo, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
| | - Pezhman Mohammadi
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Espoo, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
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