Pure mycelium materials: characteristics and applications

Mycelium is the vegetative part of Fungi. It is made up of an interconnected network of hyphae, which are elongated cells with a complex cell wall. Fungi are able to grow on a wide range of substrates thanks to the extended catalytic capabilities of the enzymes they secrete and they have a modular nature, thus they grow by apical extension and lateral branching. They are exploited for a large variety of applications, from bioremediation to drug production. Recently, mycelial biocomposites obtained from the growth of a strain on waste agricultural substrates have been used as materials, which have great thermal and hydrodynamic properties, a low cost of processing and they are easily biodegraded. Previous works from Smart Materials group showed that even pure mycelia have promising features to be employed as materials and in nanotechnological applications. These conclusions are further investigated in the Thesis. The Introduction is an overview of the issues related to plastic use and production and contains a review of the main solutions and alternatives considered up to now. In the second part of the Introduction, mycelia and their applications are described. In Chapter 1, the possibility of finely tune morphological, chemical, hydrodynamic and mechanical properties of pure mycelial materials is investigated by analyzing growth of Ganoderma lucidum in liquid substrates enriched in different components. In Chapter 2, both the porous structure and the chemical and hydrodynamic features of mycelia from Ganoderma lucidum and Pleurotus ostreatus are exploited in the development of suitable bioscaffolds for attachment and growth of Human Adult Fibroblasts (HDFAs).