Dual carbon sequestration with photosynthetic living materials
Open accessPreprint — published as 10.1038/s41467-025-58761-y
Abstract
Natural ecosystems offer efficient pathways for carbon sequestration, serving as a resilient approach to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere with minimal environmental impact. However, the control of living systems outside of their native environments is often challenging. Here, we engineered a photosynthetic living material for dual CO 2 sequestration by immobilizing photosynthetic microorganisms within a printable polymeric network. The carbon concentrating mechanism of the cyanobacteria enabled accumulation of CO 2 within the cell, resulting in biomass production. Additionally, the metabolic production of OH - ions in the surrounding medium created an environment for the formation of insoluble carbonates via microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). Digital design and fabrication of the living material ensured sufficient access to light and nutrient transport of the encapsulated cyanobacteria, which were essential for long-term viability (more than one year) as well as efficient photosynthesis and carbon sequestration. The photosynthetic living materials sequestered approximately 2.5 mg of CO 2 per gram of hydrogel material over 30 days via dual carbon sequestration, with 2.2 ± 0.9 mg stored as insoluble carbonates. Over an extended incubation period of 400 days, the living materials sequestered 26 ± 7 mg of CO 2 per gram of hydrogel material in the form of stable minerals. These findings highlight the potential of photosynthetic living materials for scalable carbon sequestration, carbon-neutral infrastructure, and green building materials. The simplicity of maintenance, coupled with its scalability nature, suggests broad applications of photosynthetic living materials as a complementary strategy to mitigate CO 2 emissions.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The mineral phase of insoluble carbonates produced by MICP mechanically strengthened the bioprinted structures.
“Furthermore, the mineral phase of the insoluble carbonates produced by MICP mechanically strengthened the bioprinted structures.”
From A Review of Algae-Based Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (Algae-Based CCUS) (2024) · cites this paper as [272]
Dranseike et al. demonstrated that algae in optimized bioprinted structures could survive and grow normally for over a year, successfully achieving dual carbon storage through biomass production via photosynthesis and formation of insoluble carbonates via MICP.
“As a result, the study demonstrated that the algae in these optimized bioprinted structures could survive and grow normally for over a year, successfully achieving dual carbon storage through biomass production via photosynthesis and the formation of insoluble carbonates via MICP.”
From A Review of Algae-Based Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (Algae-Based CCUS) (2024) · cites this paper as [272]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Lal, R. (2008) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2185 · Cited by 1,413 · see citing works
Fairbanks, B. D., Schwartz, M. P., Bowman, C. N., & Anseth, K. S. (2009) · Biomaterials · doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.08.055 · Cited by 1,206 · see citing works
Immobilized microalgae for removing pollutants: Review of practical aspects
de‐Bashan, L. E., & Yoav Bashan, A. (2009) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2009.09.043 · Cited by 788 · see citing works
Volumetric Bioprinting of Complex Living‐Tissue Constructs within Seconds
Bernal, P. N., Delrot, P., Loterie, D., Li, Y., Malda, J., Moser, C., & Levato, R. (2019) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.201904209 · Cited by 618 · see citing works
Karunadasa, K. S. P., Manoratne, C. H., Pitawala, H. M. T. G. A., et al. (2019) · Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids · doi:10.1016/j.jpcs.2019.05.023 · Cited by 564 · see citing works
Optimum conditions for microbial carbonate precipitation
Okwadha, G. D. O., & Li, J. H. (2010) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.09.066 · Cited by 480 · see citing works
Engineered living biomaterials
Rodrigo-Navarro, A., Sankaran, S., Dalby, M., del Campo, A., & Salmerón-Sánchez, M. (2021) · Nature Reviews Materials · doi:10.1038/s41578-021-00350-8 · Cited by 419 · see citing works
Living materials with programmable functionalities grown from engineered microbial co-cultures
Gilbert, C., Tang, T., Ott, W., et al. (2021) · Nature Materials · doi:10.1038/s41563-020-00857-5 · Cited by 357 · see citing works
The biology of carbonate precipitation by cyanobacteria
Merz, M. U. E. (1992) · Facies · doi:10.1007/bf02539795 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
Urease-aided calcium carbonate mineralization for engineering applications: A review
Krajewska, B. (2017) · Journal of Advanced Research · doi:10.1016/j.jare.2017.10.009 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Diagnostic biosensors in medicine – A review
Metkar, S. K., & Girigoswami, K. (2018) · Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.bcab.2018.11.029 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Zhang, K., Tang, C., Jiang, N., Pan, X., Лю, Б., Wang, Y.-J., & Shi, B. (2023) · Environmental Earth Sciences · doi:10.1007/s12665-023-10899-y · Cited by 306 · see citing works
Wang, Y., Stessman, D. J., & Spalding, M. H. (2015) · The Plant Journal · doi:10.1111/tpj.12829 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Liendo, F., Arduino, M., Deorsola, F. A., & Bensaid, S. (2021) · Powder Technology · doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2021.117050 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Engineered Living Materials For Sustainability
An, B., Wang, Y., Huang, Y., Wang, X., Liu, Y., Xun, D., Church, G. M., Dai, Z., Yi, X., Tang, T., et al. (2022) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00512 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Dudukovic, N. A., Fong, E. J., Gemeda, H. B., et al. (2021) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03603-2 · Cited by 239 · see citing works
Calcifying cyanobacteria—the potential of biomineralization for carbon capture and storage
Jansson, C., & Northen, T. R. (2010) · Current Opinion in Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2010.03.017 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Biomineralization and Successive Regeneration of Engineered Living Building Materials
Heveran, C. M., Williams, S. L., Qiu, J., Artier, J., Hubler, M. H., Cook, S. M., Cameron, J. C., & Srubar, W. V. (2020) · Matter · doi:10.1016/j.matt.2019.11.016 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Rajasekar, A., Wilkinson, S., & Moy, C. K. S. (2021) · Environmental Science and Ecotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.ese.2021.100096 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Microbial Biosensors: Engineered Microorganisms as the Sensing Machinery
Park, M., Tsai, S., & Chen, W. (2013) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s130505777 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
The living interface between synthetic biology and biomaterial design
Liu, A. P., Appel, E. A., Ashby, P. D., Baker, B. M., Franco, E., Gu, L., Haynes, K. A., Joshi, N. S., Kloxin, A. M., Kouwer, P. H. J., et al. (2022) · Nature Materials · doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01231-3 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Mondal, S., & Ghosh, A. D. (2019) · Construction and Building Materials · doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.122 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Ludwig, M., & Bryant, D. A. (2012) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2012.00354 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Cyanobacteria as Biocatalysts for Carbonate Mineralization
Kamennaya, N. A., Ajo-Franklin, C. M., Northen, T. R., & Jansson, C. (2012) · Minerals · doi:10.3390/min2040338 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Terzis, D., & Laloui, L. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-19895-w · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Bio-cement production using microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) method: A review
Gebru, K. A., Kidanemariam, T. G., & Gebretinsae, H. K. (2021) · Chemical Engineering Science · doi:10.1016/j.ces.2021.116610 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Wangpraseurt, D., You, S., Azam, F., Jacucci, G., Gaidarenko, O., Hildebrand, M., Kühl, M., Smith, A. G., Davey, M. P., Smith, A., et al. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15486-4 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Engineered Living Materials: Taxonomies and Emerging Trends
Srubar, W. V. (2020) · Trends in biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.10.009 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
3D-printed hierarchical pillar array electrodes for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis
Chen, X., Lawrence, J. M., Wey, L. T., Schertel, L., Jing, Q., Vignolini, S., Howe, C. J., Kar‐Narayan, S., & Zhang, J. (2022) · Nature Materials · doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01205-5 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Torres-Aravena, Á., Duarte-Nass, C., Azócar, L., et al. (2018) · Crystals · doi:10.3390/cryst8110438 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Genetic tools for advancement of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 as a cyanobacterial chassis
Ruffing, A. M., Jensen, T. J., & Strickland, L. M. (2016) · Microbial Cell Factories · doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0584-6 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Bioprinting of Regenerative Photosynthetic Living Materials
Balasubramanian, S., Yu, K., Meyer, A. S., Karana, E., & Aubin‐Tam, M. (2021) · Advanced Functional Materials · doi:10.1002/adfm.202011162 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
3D printed coaxial nozzles for the extrusion of hydrogel tubes toward modeling vascular endothelium
Millik, S. C., Dostie, A. M., Karis, D., Smith, P. T., McKenna, M., Chan, N. R., Curtis, C., Nance, E. A., Theberge, A. B., & Nelson, A. (2019) · Biofabrication · doi:10.1088/1758-5090/ab2b4d · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Bottom-up approaches to engineered living materials: Challenges and future directions
Molinari, S., Tesoriero, R. F., & Ajo-Franklin, C. M. (2021) · Matter · doi:10.1016/j.matt.2021.08.001 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Jain, S., Fang, C., & Achal, V. (2021) · Bioengineered · doi:10.1080/21655979.2021.1979862 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Bu, C., Lu, X., Zhu, D., Liu, L., Sun, Y., Wu, Q., Zhang, W., & Wei, Q. (2022) · Arabian Journal of Geosciences · doi:10.1007/s12517-022-10012-w · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Qiu, W., Gehlen, J., Bernero, M., Gehre, C., Schädli, G. N., Müller, R., & Qin, X. (2023) · Advanced Functional Materials · doi:10.1002/adfm.202214393 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citation3D printing of living structural biocomposites
Hirsch, M., Lucherini, L., Zhao, R., Saracho, A. C., & Amstad, E. (2023) · Materials Today · doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2023.02.001 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Biomimetic 3D living materials powered by microorganisms
Wangpraseurt, D., You, S., Sun, Y., & Chen, S. (2022) · Trends in biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.01.003 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Zhang, D., Dechatiwongse, P., & Hellgardt, K. (2015) · Algal Research · doi:10.1016/j.algal.2015.01.006 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Vale, M. A., Ferreira, A. M., Pires, J. C. M., & Gonçalves, A. L. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-819657-1.00017-7 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Kumar, G., Sivagurunathan, P., Zhen, G., Kobayashi, T., Kim, S., & Xu, K. (2017) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.08.154 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Tiefenthaler, J., Braune, L., Bauer, C., Sacchi, R., & Mazzotti, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Climate · doi:10.3389/fclim.2021.729259 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Artificial leaf device for hydrogen generation from immobilised C. reinhardtii microalgae
Das, A. A. K., Esfahani, M. M., Velev, O. D., Pamme, N., & Paunov, V. N. (2015) · Journal of Materials Chemistry A · doi:10.1039/c5ta07112g · Cited by 51 · see citing works
A review of recent advances in engineering bacteria for enhanced CO2 capture and utilization
Onyeaka, H., & Ekwebelem, O. C. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1007/s13762-022-04303-8 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Nething, C., Смирнова, М. Ю., Gröning, J. A. D., et al. (2020) · Materials & Design · doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109032 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Hybrid Living Capsules Autonomously Produced by Engineered Bacteria
Birnbaum, D. P., Manjula‐Basavanna, A., Kan, A., et al. (2021) · Advanced Science · doi:10.1002/advs.202004699 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Reinhardt, O., Ihmann, S., Ahlhelm, M., & Gelinsky, M. (2023) · Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology · doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1145177 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Growth, Distribution, and Photosynthesis of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii in 3D Hydrogels
Oh, J., Ammu, S. K., Vriend, V. D., et al. (2023) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.202305505 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Yu, K., Spiesz, E. M., Balasubramanian, S., et al. (2021) · Cell Reports Physical Science · doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2021.100464 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Metabolism Control in 3D-Printed Living Materials Improves Fermentation
Butelmann, T., Priks, H., Parent, Z., et al. (2021) · ACS Applied Bio Materials · doi:10.1021/acsabm.1c00754 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sidhu, N., Goyal, S., & Reddy, S. M. (2022) · AMB Express · doi:10.1186/s13568-022-01403-z · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Delneuville, C., Danloy, E., Wang, L., & Su, B. (2018) · Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology · doi:10.1007/s10971-018-4687-x · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Engineering Microbes to Produce Fuel, Commodities, and Food from CO2
Gleizer, S., Bar-On, Y., Ben-Nissan, R., & Milo, R. (2020) · Cell Reports Physical Science · doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100223 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Living textile biocomposites deliver enhanced carbon dioxide capture
In-na, P., Lee, J. G. M., & Caldwell, G. S. (2021) · Journal of Industrial Textiles · doi:10.1177/15280837211025725 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Calcium carbonate production by fish in temperate marine environments
Salter, M. A., Perry, C. T., & Smith, A. M. (2019) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.1002/lno.11339 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Sithole, M. N., Kumar, P., du Toit, L. C., Erlwanger, K. H., Ubanako, P. N., & Choonara, Y. E. (2023) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms24087611 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Living electrodes based on green algae in hydrogels
Al-Mossawi, M., Warren, H., Molino, P. J., Calvert, P., & Panhuis, M. I. H. (2021) · Materials Advances · doi:10.1039/d0ma00985g · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Hybrid composites based on fibres of marine origin
Chiellini, E., Cinelli, P., Ilieva, V. I., et al. (2009) · International Journal of Materials and Product Technology · doi:10.1504/ijmpt.2009.027819 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Nanofibrillar Patches of Commensal Skin Bacteria
Glinel, K., Behrens, A. M., Langer, R., Jaklenec, A., & Jonas, A. M. (2018) · Biomacromolecules · doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00735 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
3D Printing of Hierarchical Porous Ceramics for Thermal Insulation And Evaporative Cooling
Dutto, A., Zanini, M., Jeoffroy, E., et al. (2023) · Advanced Materials Technologies · doi:10.1002/admt.202301026 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Best, J. A., Barazangi, M., Al-Saad, D., Sawaf, T., & Gebran, A. (1990) · Geology · doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [39]Thompson J. B. & Ferris F. G. Cyanobacterial precipitation of gypsum, calcite, and magnesite from natural alkaline lake water. geol. 18, 995 (1990).
- [47]Ahmed B. & Sultana S. A Critical Review on PLA-Algae Composite: Chemistry, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties. J. Text. Sci. Eng 10 (2020).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A Review of Algae-Based Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (Algae-Based CCUS)
Li, G., & Yao, J. (2024) · Gases · doi:10.3390/gases4040024 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Carbon capture, storage, and utilization in cyanobacteria
Majhi, B. K. (2026) · Carbon Resources Conversion · doi:10.1016/j.crcon.2025.100388 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Dranseike, D., Cui, Y., Ling, A. S., Donat, F., Bernhard, S., Bernero, M., Areeckal, A., Qin, X.-H., Oakey, J. S., Dillenburger, B., Studart, A. R., & Tibbitt, M. W.
- Affiliations
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- University of Wyoming (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tibbitt, Mark W.
- ORCID
- Venue
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Publisher
- openRxiv
- Published
- 2023-12-23
- PMC
- PMC10769394
- OpenAlex
- W4390154563
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
- Type
- posted content
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by-nd)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (P20GM103432)
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (184697, 200021)
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology
- National Institutes of Health (5p20gm103432-20, P20-GM-103432)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Applications in Construction Materials
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition
- Keywords
- carbon sequestration, cyanobacteria, microbial carbonate precipitation, CO2-concentrating mechanism, CO2 mineralization, hydrogel encapsulation, biomass production, sustainable construction materials, CO2 emission reduction
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
