Biologic fashion Design

[mikesw]

Here's an interesting article for those that want to go Green, it's biodegradable etc. The only question is how
strong is it to wear-n-tear, and what happens when it gets wet - especially while wearing it or trying to wash
and dry them in a machine. Maybe ultrasonic cleaning is how it should be done.

However, I'd prefer to make them out of protein and better yet custom made one out of my own DNA strands.
What protein structure would be the strongest or most durable if one tried to make these. Would I be able to have
knitted patterns of proteins. That is a row of proteins of two helixs stitched with multiple rows of three helixs, repeated
til done or any other combination of patterns? Hmmm, maybe the thread to tie it altogether would be the unfolded
protein to stitch together the folded protein. If one wanted seamless, then one somehow activates the unfolded protein
once it threads together the material such that the unfolded protein is folded and becomes invisible since it blends
into the folded protein material.


http://www.ecouterre.com/20103/u-k-desi ... -bacteria/

[susato]

Good heavens, it's "Kombucha mushroom", the cellulose-rich biofilm that forms on the top of fermenting Kombucha.
Since it's dimensionally stable on top of the tea it should keep its shape when wetted, though this one seems thin enough to require hand washing. One would probably have to wear conventional garments beneath it because it is so transparent.

If you want a protein-based garment, try silk (silkworm cocoon protein) or any kind of wool (keratin) whether from sheep, camel, rabbit or dog. Or if you can afford it, golden orb spider silk, the world's most expensive natural textile.

If you're interested in knitting with DNA, there are ways to use it as a generic, not a genetic, polymer, by making Y- and X-shaped DNA structures and connecting them -- but the one guy I know working in this area is more interested in nanoparticles and hydrogels than in threads and sheets.