Publication date: 15th December 2025
Repurposing biology for technology is one of the pathways for a sustainable future reducing synthetic waste and carbon emissions. The integration of living components directly in materials and devices opens new possibilities for energy efficient, sustainable materials that are dynamic and responsive. Previously we leveraged the biocatalytic machinery of plants for in-vivo fabrication of functional electrochemical components. Specifically, we discovered that plants polymerize conjugated oligomers in-vivo, catalysed by endogenous peroxidases, forming conductors within their structure. We then demonstrated intact plants with electronic roots that continue to grow enabling plant-biohybrid systems that maintain fully their biological processes. Apart from augmenting plants with non-native functionality we are also interested in using synthetic materials for enhancing plant processes. We developed polyethyleneimine-based nanoparticles that enhance photosynthetic biochemical reactions in-vitro while in-vivo enhance plants CO2 capture ability. Our latest work extends these concepts to plant cells combined with additive manufacturing for producing custom made sustainable photosynthetic living materials with technological functionality.
