Innovative chitin-glucan based material obtained from mycelium of wood decay fungal strains
Dhanalakshmi Vadivel,
Marco Cartabia,
Giulia Scalet,
Simone Buratti,
Luca Di Landro,
Alessandra Benedetti,
Ferdinando Auricchio,
Stefano Babbini,
Elena Savino,
Daniele Dondi
Affiliations
Dhanalakshmi Vadivel
Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100, Pavia, Italy; Corresponding author.
Marco Cartabia
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DSTA), University of Pavia, Via S. Epifanio 14, 27100, Pavia, Italy; MOGU S.r.l., Via S. Francesco d’Assisi 62, 21020, Inarzo, VA, Italy
Giulia Scalet
Dep. of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr), University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100, Pavia, Italy
Simone Buratti
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DSTA), University of Pavia, Via S. Epifanio 14, 27100, Pavia, Italy
Luca Di Landro
Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DAER), Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156, Milano, Italy
Alessandra Benedetti
Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DAER), Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156, Milano, Italy
Ferdinando Auricchio
Dep. of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr), University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100, Pavia, Italy
Stefano Babbini
MOGU S.r.l., Via S. Francesco d’Assisi 62, 21020, Inarzo, VA, Italy
Elena Savino
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DSTA), University of Pavia, Via S. Epifanio 14, 27100, Pavia, Italy
Daniele Dondi
Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100, Pavia, Italy
Fungi are an alternative source to animal-based chitin. In fungi, chitin fibrils are strongly interconnected and bound with glucans that justify the unique matrix. The present study aimed to extract chitin and glucans from the mycelium of several wood decay fungal strains in order to obtain flexible materials and to check correlations between chitin content and the mechanical properties of these materials. Five strains were chosen in consideration of their different cell wall chemical composition (high content of α-glucans, β-glucans or chitin) to evaluate how these differences could influence the mechanical and chemical characteristics of the material. The fungal strains were cultivated in liquid-submerged dynamic fermentation (both flasks and bioreactor). Chitin and glucans were crosslinked with acetic acid and plasticized with glycerol to obtain flexible sheets. Abortiporus biennis, Fomitopsis iberica and Stereum hirsutum strains were found to adapt to produce material with adequate flexibility. The obtained materials were characterized by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for the understanding of the material composition. The material obtained from each species was mechanically tested in terms of tear strength, elongation at break, and Young's modulus.
