Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats for mushroom mycelium growth investigations and formation of mycelium-reinforced nanocomposites

Marah Trabelsi,Al Mamun,Bennet Brockhagen,Michaela Klöcker,Dato Kapanadze,Lilia Sabantina,Franziska Kinzel

doi:10.1177/15589250211037982

Marah Trabelsi, Al Mamun + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/15589250211037982

Copy DOI

Abstract

Mycelium-bound composites are new environmentally friendly, cost-effective and sustainable materials, enable energy-saving bio-composite fabrication, and provide an alternative to synthetic materials. Current research on mycelium-based composites reports on relatively coarse material compositions such as rice husks, cotton residues, sawdust, leaves and bio-waste, etc. According to research, very few publications report on mycelium-reinforced composites with the use of nanomaterials and this topic is under-researched and this study helps to fill this gap. The focus of this study deals with the preparation of mycelium-reinforced nanocomposites including nanofiber mats and the investigation of the different nanofiber mat morphologies on the growth of fungal mycelium. The mycelium macrofibers from Pleurotus ostreatus fungi were grown on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats. Different morphologies of nanofiber mats such as fibrous and non-fibrous membrane areas or a mixture of both were used for mycelial growth with an additional nutrient. Moreover, mycelium/PAN nanocomposites were oxidative stabilized and carbonized and mycelium retains its morphology. For faster color differentiation between mycelium and nanofibers, PAN nanofiber mats were dyed in a one-step process by adding dye powder to the electrospinning solution as an additional tool. No significant differences in mycelial growth and morphology were observed regarding the different nanofiber mat types and the use of dye. These mycelium-reinforced nanocomposites are promising for many applications such as medicine and biotechnology, air and water purification and filtration, vertical farming, architecture, etc., and enable energy-saving bio-composite fabrication.

Highlights

Mycelium-bound composites are promising materials for sustainable products and can be used in many fields such as packaging, insulation, air and water filtration, clothing, fashion, for vertical farming, furniture, architecture, medical, and biotechnological fields.[1,2,3,4,5,6]Pleurotus ostreatus is a well-known edible mushroom that, due to its shorter growth period compared to most other mushrooms, is the second most cultivated mushroom in the world.[7]
We found that the growth process of the mycelium on nanofiber mats is difficult to detect visually or with optical measurement methods, such as microscope, because the fungal mycelium has white color like the white nanofiber mat.[53]
PAN was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and electrospinning solution was stirred for 1 h at room temperature

Summary

Introduction

Mycelium-bound composites are promising materials for sustainable products and can be used in many fields such as packaging, insulation, air and water filtration, clothing, fashion, for vertical farming, furniture, architecture, medical, and biotechnological fields.[1,2,3,4,5,6]Pleurotus ostreatus is a well-known edible mushroom that, due to its shorter growth period compared to most other mushrooms, is the second most cultivated mushroom in the world.[7]. Cellulose, minerals, and nitrogen are essential for the fungal fruit.[9] The mycelium of these fungi is the entirety of the vegetative fungal fibers, called hyphae, which consist of filamentous cells of a fungus and grow radially in an undefined manner by tip extension of individual hyphae.[10,11] The mushrooms are rich in protein, possess antimicrobial properties, considered antioxidant, used for food production and treatment of oil-contaminated soils, and are promising for many technical applications.[12,13,14] In the production of bio-composites, the fungal mycelium serves as a natural adhesive and as a connecting element, holding all the layers together. Materials of synthetic and bio-based origin are suitable for mycelium composite formation, whereby the variety in the macro and nano range is almost unlimited.[15,16]

Methods

Results

Conclusion