Materials Manufactured from 3D Printed Synthetic Biology Arrays

Many complex, biologically-derived materials have extremely useful structural properties (think wood or silk) but are not used in traditional applications due to design, production, and manufacturing limitations. Living cells naturally specialize in making complex biomaterials on a micro- to nano- scale. We envision combining this ability with the recently emergent technologies of synthetic biology and additive manufacturing to create a new class of human-workable materials: by creating 3D-printed arrays of living cells that have been bioengineered to secrete different material components, we can ultimately produce is nonliving, structural biomaterials with human-designed shape, structure and composition. Biomaterials are the natural materials produced by and integrated into living systems, as well as artificial materials developed to mimic them. They include simple molecules like sugars, complex polymers like collagen, and organic-inorganic composites ranging from macroscale mixtures like microbial mats to the molecularly bound biominerals of bone and nacre. Natural biomaterials, like wood, have three main limitations: nonreproducible microstructure, resource- (and thus mass-)intensive production and crafting, and lack of functional customization. Synthetic biology is the creation of designed living systems. It typically involves re-ordering and re-linking DNA sequences and inserting the modified sequences into a cell, causing the cell to produce a desired biological substance under controlled conditions. Although it has been used to produce bulk pharmaceuticals and biofuels, its use to enable the production of structured, non-living materials is a new application. 3D printing is a manufacturing process in which successive layers of material are laid down and bound together, allowing small plastic or metal items to be manufactured quickly, with down to microscale precision, on an as-needed basis. Most 3D printers are limited to homogenous materials, making them unsuitable for highly structured biomaterials such as the chitin and calcium carbonate complex of shell; although 3D printers which deposit solutions of living cells have been developed, prior work has focused on getting natural cells to grow, bind, and form self-sustaining tissue. Combining this technology with artificially modified cells for biomaterial production is an unexplored concept in advanced manufacturing. Our proposed technique uses a 3D printer with near single cell resolution to deposit a 3D array of bioengineered cells in the shape of a desired product. The cells are programmed to secrete desired biomaterials or biomaterial components, such as polymers, in regulated amounts and rates. The cell array secretes its materials onto a substrate, which both provides additional material to be integrated (e.g., metal ions) and helps bind the materials together. Afterward, the cells and substrate are washed away, leaving a finished, nonliving product with microscale structure and precision. By overcoming the traditional limitations to the structural use of biomaterials, we can add a whole new class of materials to humanity's traditional palette of metals, plastics and ceramics.

This concept holds the potential to open up new frontiers in the human space presence: Reduced upmass requirements for space missions. We can implement production of finished parts from digital templates and a small stock of basic resources, eliminating the need to bring most pre- and post-processing manufacturing equipment. The upmass requirements for everything from the ISS to, one day, a long-term lunar or Martian base would be drastically reduced. Increased mission robustness. With the ability to manufacture a wide range of materials and structures on an as-needed basis, astronauts can address unforeseen challenges using the best tools and materials for the job, regardless of whether those items were included in the payload. Increased use of in situ resources in off-Earth environments. Since the cells make the biomaterial components of the finished product from basic molecules, a wide variety of materials – composites, machine parts, construction materials – can be made from a very limited basic resource palette. In situ resources could replace transported ones in maintaining a long-term human space presence, building structures on other worlds, and even asteroid mining. The mission capability improvements listed under "NASA planned missions" extend to any commercial endeavors facing the same challenges. In a larger sense, however, the possibility of novel synthetic biomaterials has much larger aerospace implications. This technique may be able to control the self-assembling secondary and tertiary structures of many natural biomaterials; if true, this would allow for the rapid design and creation of new materials down to the molecular level, something well beyond our current capability. Such an advance would allow for newly designed thermal protection, reducing re-entry dangers and enabling larger off-Earth landers; improved radiation protection, allowing for more reliable spacecraft operation in high-energy environments such as the Jovian moons; and all manner of other improvements.

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