Soft, living materials made with algae glow under stress

Date:
October 20, 2023
Source:
University of California - San Diego
Summary:
Researchers have developed soft yet durable materials that glow in response to mechanical stress, such as compression, stretching or twisting. The materials derive their luminescence from single-celled algae known as dinoflagellates, which are embedded within the materials. The work was inspired by the bioluminescent waves caused by dinoflagellates during red tide events at San Diego's beaches.


A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has developed soft yet durable materials that glow in response to mechanical stress, such as compression, stretching or twisting. The materials derive their luminescence from single-celled algae known as dinoflagellates.

The work, inspired by the bioluminescent waves observed during red tide events at San Diego's beaches, was published Oct. 20 in Science Advances.

"An exciting feature of these materials is their inherent simplicity -- they need no electronics, no external power source," said study senior author Shengqiang Cai, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. "We demonstrate how we can harness the power of nature to directly convert mechanical stimuli into light emission."

This study was a multi-disciplinary collaboration involving engineers and materials scientists in Cai's lab, marine biologist Michael Latz at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and physics professor Maziyar Jalaal at University of Amsterdam.

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231020182044.htm