Biomaterial

innovations for textiles,

fashion and medical
applications
VTT Webinar 2020
Speakers

Emmi Nuutinen Pezhman Mohammadi Géza Szilvay

Research Scientist Research Scientist Senior Scientist
Webinar host

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 Practicalities
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06/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 3
Contents
1 Intro
2 Creating value for poultry feathers, Emmi Nuutinen
3 Development of spider silk-based materials through
biotechnology, Pezhman Mohammadi
4 Biofabricated materials: Case “Korvaa” headphones,
Géza Szilvay
5 Summary

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VTT – beyond the obvious
VTT is one of the leading research, development and
innovation organizations in Europe. We help our customers 268 M€
and society to grow and renew through applied research. The Net turnover and
other operating
business sector and the entire society get the best benefit
from VTT when we solve challenges that require world-class Established in income (VTT
Group 2018)
2,049
know-how together and translate them into business Total of personnel
opportunities. 1942 (VTT Group
31.12.2018)

Our vision
A brighter future is created through science-based
innovations. Owned by

Our mission Ministry of

31%
Doctorates and
Customers and society grow and renew through Economic Licentiates
applied research. Affairs and (VTT Group

Strategy
Employment
44% 2018)

From the net

Impact through scientific and technological excellence.
turnover abroad
(VTT Group
2018)
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VTT’s business areas

• Lifecycle solutions
• Sensing and
• Nuclear safety
integration KNOWLEDGE SMART • Smart energy and transport
• Connectivity INTENSIVE INDUSTRY solutions
• Data-driven solutions PRODUCTS AND AND ENERGY • Digital engineering
• National Metrology
SERVICES SYSTEMS • Business innovation
Institute VTT MIKES
foresight
• Micronova
manufacturing
services

• Industrial
biotechnology and
food solutions
• Biomass processing SOLUTIONS FOR
and products NATURAL
• Sustainable energy RESOURCES AND
and chemical ENVIRONMENT
technologies

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Biomaterial overview
 Abundance
 Diverse
 Inexpensive
 Sustainable
 Biocompatible
 Biodegradable
 High performance
 Light weight
 Durable

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Contents
1 Intro
2 Creating value for poultry feathers, Emmi Nuutinen
3 Development of spider silk-based materials through
biotechnology, Pezhman Mohammadi
4 Biofabricated materials: Case “Korvaa” headphones,
Géza Szilvay
5 Summary

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Creating value
for poultry
feathers
Emmi Nuutinen
Research Scientist

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 WHY HOW WHAT Activities
feathers to process to do at VTT
feathers with feathers

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 Problematic Abundant Inexpensive
waste stream availability
(12 million tons
annually)

Renewable, 90% protein,

biocompatible & keratin, other
biodegradable keratin sources:
wool, hair

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 Processing the complex structure into
more utilizable form

Barbs
Rachis

Barbule
Calamus

Barb

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 Feathers are resistant to the majority of
chemical and physical factors

Barbule

Microfibrils
embedded in an
amorphous protein β-sheet α-helix Random coil
matrix
Tight packing of α-helices and
β-sheets in poly-peptide chains
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 Feathers are resistant to the majority of
chemical and physical factors

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 Different processing methods
Feather
processing

Microbial and Steam

Chemical Grinding
Enzymatic explosion

Reduction Oxidation

Novel
Hydrolysis
solvents

Deep eutectic
Ionic liquids
solvents

NMMO

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 Different processing methods
Feather
processing

Chemical
Microbial and
Enzymatic  Steam
explosion  Grinding 
Activities
Reduction Oxidation
at VTT
Novel
Hydrolysis
solvents

Ionic liquids Deep eutectic

solvents 
 NMMO
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 Possible applications
Feathers as raw
material

Hollow fibre like

90 % protein Rich in nitrogen Biopolymer
structure

• Medical
Fertilizers Films Composites
Feed • Food
• Cosmetology
• Agriculture
Flame Micro and Electronic • Textile
retardants nanoparticles applications • Composite

Filaments

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 Possible applications
Feathers as raw
material

Hollow fibre like

90 % protein Rich in nitrogen Biopolymer
structure

•
Feed  Fertilizers
 Films  Composites •
Medical
Food
• Cosmetology
• Agriculture
•
Flame
retardants
Micro and
nanoparticles Electronic

applications •
Textile
Composite

Filaments 
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 Case: Processing feathers with deep
eutectic solvents
• From lab scale to 15 kg scale
• Comprehensive characterisation for
keratin
• Molecular weight
• Secondary structure
• Crystallinity
• SH and SS contents
• Reg. and sol. keratin used to
prepare films

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 Current interest to combine keratin with
other materials, especially cellulose

Feather keratin Cellulose

• Biological functionality (known to possess • Good mechanical properties

advantages for wound care, tissue reconstruction, cell • Biodegradable
seeding and diffusion, and drug delivery as • Biocompatible
biomaterial) • High water absorption
• Possibly improved wettability, adsorption capability,
dyeability, fire retardancy, reduced fibrillation,
smoother morphology
• Biodegradable
• Poor mechanical properties when  The aim to prepare filaments for textile applications
processed

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Contents
1 Intro
2 Creating value for poultry feathers, Emmi Nuutinen
3 Development of spider silk-based materials through
biotechnology, Pezhman Mohammadi
4 Biofabricated materials: Case “Korvaa” headphones,
Géza Szilvay
5 Summary

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Development of
spider silk-
based materials
through bio-
technology

Pezhman
Mohammadi
Research Scientist

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Diversity of
spider web

Ref. world Spider Catalog

Spider silk is the most versatile material on
the planet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_silk

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 How to harness
power of spider silk
to make better
materials
There is only one textile made
from natural spider silk:
• 1 million female golden orb spiders
• 1080 g
• 70+12 people
• 8 years
• ? Cost

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Biological production of high performance
protein building blocks
Biological production of high performance protein building blocks (such as spider silk)
in microorganism can reshape how we make and consume material in the future

Gene sequence Cloning Expression of target protein

Codon optimisation Transforming the gene into microorganism

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Recombinant production of spider silk
proteins in microorganisms
Single spider silk protein

Challenges for expression of silk protein

in microorganisms:
• Difficulty to express large molecular
weight proteins
• Low yields (0.2−2 g/L)​
• High degradation (50−80%)​
• Expensive and time consuming
downstream processes​
Bacterium Yeast • No technically acceptable mechanical
(Pichia pastoris) performance
(Escherichia coli)

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Biosynthesis of spider silk proteins
Most industrially relevant solution is biosynthesis of spider silk proteins
using microorganism with altered biosynthesis

Filamentous fungus
(Trichoderma reesei) Advantages of Trichoderma
Expressed and purified over other expression
Spider silk protein hosts:

• High yields (more than 4 g/l)

• Fairly pure
• Minimal degradation (we have
17 deletion strain)
• No endotoxin or immunogenic
compounds
• Easy downstream processing
and purification

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Making high added value products from
spider silk at VTT
Broad biomedical and industrial applications:
 Drug delivery vehicles
 Wound coverage instruments
 Surgical fibers
 Cell culture/tissue engineering
 Cell mimicry
 Coatings
 Adhesives
 Food and drug packaging
 Tough structural components
 Composite implants

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Contents
1 Intro
2 Creating value for poultry feathers, Emmi Nuutinen
3 Development of spider silk-based materials through
biotechnology, Pezhman Mohammadi
4 Biofabricated materials: Case “Korvaa” headphones,
Géza Szilvay
5 Summary

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Biofabricated
materials:
case “Korvaa”
headphones

Géza Szilvay
Senior Scientist

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Korvaa:
The world’s first headphones
produced with microbes

Exhibited at
• Fiskars Biennale 2019
• Helsinki Design Week 2019
• Green Heroes, Birmingham 2019
• Design Museum Helsinki, 2019
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Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
 Reach:
“ The world’s most beautiful head-
phones are here, and they’re made
of fungus.
350 - Fast Company, May 28, 2019
mill.
readers

etc.

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 The materials
1

1 PLA bioplastic

2 Synthetic spider silk (electrospun)

3 Mycelium leather-like material

3

2 4 Protein – cellulose foam

Mycelium – bacterial cellulose

5 5
composite
4

34
Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
 The materials
1

1 PLA bioplastic

2 Synthetic spider silk (electrospun)

3 Mycelium leather-like material

4 Protein – cellulose foam

Mycelium – bacterial cellulose

5
composite

35
Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
Polylactic acid (PLA)

 3D printed
 Lactic acid production in yeast (and lactobacillus)
 Conversion of waste streams into bioplastics Work by Ellilä, Toivari, et al.
E.g. Koivuranta et al., 2014

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 The materials

1 PLA bioplastic

2 Synthetic spider silk (electrospun)

3 Mycelium leather-like material

2 4 Protein – cellulose foam

Mycelium – bacterial cellulose

5
composite

37
Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
Production of biosynthetic spider silk
Purified spider
silk protein
4 g/L

Produced in the fungus Trichoderma reesei

• Engineered host: successive deletions of 15 proteases
Westerholm-Parvinen et al.,
(manuscript)

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 The materials

1 PLA bioplastic

2 Synthetic spider silk (electrospun)

3 Mycelium leather-like material

3

4 Protein – cellulose foam

Mycelium – bacterial cellulose

5
composite

39
Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
Leather-like materials from fungal mycelium

From organic
waste

Fungal
cultivation

Grows as a
filament network

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 Mycelium leather from liquid suspensions
Water, nutrients, fungi

Leather-like
Mycelium Water removal materials
production
+
processing 5 – 6 days

3 years

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 Different shapes, sizes, and colors!

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 The materials

1 PLA bioplastic

2 Synthetic spider silk (electrospun)

3 Mycelium leather-like material

4 Protein – cellulose foam

Mycelium – bacterial cellulose

5
composite
4

43
Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
 Foam formation with fungal hydrophobins

Hydrophobin Self-assembly
foam at interfaces

Protein Protein templated

templated graphene foams
cellulose fibre
foam Kurppa et al.,
Patent application
WO19211521 A1
Patent application
WO16193547A1

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 The materials

1 PLA bioplastic

2 Synthetic spider silk (electrospun)

3 Mycelium leather-like material

4 Protein – cellulose foam

Mycelium – bacterial cellulose

5 5
composite

45
Photo by Thomas Tallqvist, courtesy of Aivan
Composite from mycelium and bacterial
cellulose
Mycelium + BC

BC

Fungal
hyphae

Cover for the electronics

• Fungal mycelium
• Bacterial cellulose from Gluconacetobacter xylinus
• Fire resistant properties
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 The Korvaa team

Nina Pulkkis, Géza Szilvay, Manuel Arias Barrantes, Merja Penttilä, Thomas Tallqvist, Saku Sysiö,
Pezhman Mohammadi, Anniina Suhonen, Robert Pylkkänen

Funding from Academy of Finland, Sitra Fund, VTT, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, CYSS Center for
Young Synbio Scientists, Sophie von Julin Foundation, Aivan, and Fotoni Film is gratefully acknowledged

06/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 47

Summary

 Reducing the environmental footprint of plastics using bio-

based alternatives.
 Using biotechnology to reshape how we make high performance
sustainable bio-based material in the future.
 Showing various groundbreaking examples that could serve the
market for industry-specific concepts.

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Did you get interested?

 We are looking for partners to commercialize different biomaterials

 Please get in touch with us!

Emmi Nuutinen Pezhman Mohammadi Géza Szilvay

Research Scientist Research Scientist Senior Scientist
emmi.nuutinen@vtt.fi pezhman.mohammadi@vtt.fi geza.szilvay@vtt.fi
+358 40 681 7126 +358 40 163 7835 +358 40 720 6129
06/04/2020 VTT – beyond the obvious 49
Thank you! @VTTFinland vttresearch.com