Bacteria For Breathable Clothing

Bacteria For Breathable Clothing

From mechanics to textiles to 3D printing, the fashion industry has been leaning hard on collaborations with the tech world in recent years. In a new twist for the overlap between fashion and technology, a research team at MIT has developed a bio-skin fabric that is coated with highly sensitive and visibly reactive microorganisms called bacillus subtilis natto. The bacteria demonstrates physical changes depending on its exposure to humidity, so clothing made from material packed with the cells morphs as the wearer sweats or experiences a rise in temperature.

MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group is pioneering the BioLogic research into bacillus subtilis natto and its real world applications. The bacterium is commonly used in Japanese cooking, particularly in a popular dish called natt?. But BioLogic says inspiration for its product came from an Japanese myth about a samurai who discovered the bacteria living in dry rice stalks, which at that time were used to weave bags for transporting soybeans and other dry products.

Manipulating the natto cells allows the BioLogic team to create varying effects in the textiles created with a layer of the bacteria. The process involves printing layers of natto-imbued biofilm onto spandex. Patterns and designs in the placement of individual natto cells creates a range of effects as the fabric interacts with the wearer’s humidity levels from factors like internal temperature and body sweat or external humidity levels and weather changes.

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