Bottom-up fabrication of high-strength mycelium-based materials: Tween as a bioregulator of mycelium growth.

Authors

Jiahao Cui, Mengmeng Xu, Ting Li, Yuan Hao, Qiong Wang, Liting Zhao, Lei Chen, Guiyang Shi, Zhongyang Ding

Published in

Materials horizons. Jul 31, 2026. Epub Jul 31, 2026.

Abstract

Mycelium-based materials represent a promising sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. However, their broad-scale application remains hindered by intrinsic mechanical frailty and the ubiquitous strength-toughness trade-off. In this work, we present a bottom-up fabrication strategy that overcomes these limitations by engineering desirable material properties during the biological growth phase. Specifically, by introducing Tween-20 as a bio-regulator during the liquid culture of Ganoderma lucidum, thereby enabling programmable, synergistic multiscale structural reinforcement through endogenous fungal metabolism. At the macroscale, this approach orchestrates the spontaneous self-assembly of a densely entangled three-dimensional hyphal network, significantly enhancing load transfer. At the microscale, Tween-20 modulates cell wall composition and fatty acid biosynthesis, priming the matrix for robust covalent ester cross-linking with a glycerol-based plasticizer. Critically, Tween-20 functions as a metabolic elicitor that directs in situ structural programming and chemical consolidation within a single fabrication cycle. The resulting biomaterial achieves outstanding mechanical performance, with a tensile strength of 24.21 MPa, a Young's modulus of 116.45 MPa, and a toughness of 2909.47 kJ m^-3, substantially surpassing the corresponding values obtained for previously reported pure mycelium-based materials. Moreover, the material demonstrates integrated multifunctionality, including hydrophobicity, thermal stability, antibacterial activity, and biodegradability. This study establishes a scalable, environmentally benign platform for high-performance biocomposites manufacturing and provides a foundational design paradigm for next-generation sustainable consumer goods and packaging solutions.

PMID:
42533828
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 31 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.