We’ve already seen many 3D printing innovators do impressive things by incorporating non-printed materials into their printed products. For example, an MIT team created wearer-reactive footwear by printing onto stretchable textiles. However, a new development coming from the MIT Media Lab is taking this to a whole new level by actually printing with bacterial cells to create biologically reactive materials.
This new process makes use of natto, a bacterium discovered in dry rice stalks. The bacteria has the ability to expand and contract as a reaction to the moisture in its environment. Through the use of this material, the team was able to create a tight-fitting “Second Skin” that transforms in response to the body heat and sweat of the wearer. Higher temperatures cause the garment to expand and breathe better, while lower temperatures cause contraction that holds heat in better.
What’s special about this development is that the reactive material is printed along with the non-organic material, rather than implemented as a non-printed component. Such innovations are promising to expand the possibilities of 3D printing into newer, more exciting applications.
