The textile industry is currently highly dependent on synthetic fibers based on fossil raw materials. Their production causes significant CO₂ emissions and requires large amounts of energy and chemicals, which makes the transition to more sustainable production processes difficult.
The GXY project, part of the BIOTEXFUTURE innovation space, is therefore researching genetically programmable collagens as a raw material for elastic, biodegradable high-performance fibers. In the long term, these could replace synthetic fibers, which account for around two-thirds of global textile production, thus making an important contribution to a more environmentally friendly textile industry.
Research progress
The project has already succeeded in producing the first collagen materials in a bioreactor based on nutritional yeasts – an important step, as this process is considered the gold standard for industrial production. Currently, the yield is still in the microgram range, but gram to kilogram quantities appear realistic in the medium term. At the same time, quality tests are being carried out at the FILK Freiberg Institute to compare the performance of the new fibers with textile specifications. Initial results indicate that the fibers can be specifically programmed in terms of their properties. Particularly exciting is the fact that the collagen polypeptides exhibit self-healing properties, with damaged fibers forming new bonds when they come into contact with nutrient solution. Work is also underway on processing the spinning mass using 3D printing, which could open up new possibilities for textile production.
The tasks in the project are clearly divided: Berlin-based start-up Mimotype Technologies GmbH, which specializes in bio-nanotechnology, is focusing on protein engineering and the genetic programming of collagen sequences. At the DWI Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, microorganisms are genetically modified so that they can produce the desired proteins in the bioreactor. The FILK Freiberg Institute then takes over the quality tests and examines the extent to which the new fibers meet the required textile technical properties.
"Mimotype's development work goes beyond the processing of collagen-like polypeptides in textile fibers. Biomimetic collagen materials have enormous potential in regenerative medicine and even in exotic applications such as soft robotics, bioelectronics, and engineered living materials (ELM) in general. Therefore, the collaboration between DWI, FILK, and Mimotype is groundbreaking for novel breakthrough technologies and their commercialization.", explains Claudio Flores, project manager at GXY.
Felix Jakob from the DWI Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials adds: “The design of the collagen sequence at the molecular level determines the properties of the manufactured material and fiber. Understanding these programmable materials is exciting and will enable us to predict and tailor textile properties in the future.”
With GXY, the consortium aims to use a biotechnological process to produce novel collagen-based protein fibers that can potentially be manufactured on an industrial scale. This could make an important contribution to the transformation of the textile industry toward sustainable, resource-efficient materials.
Further information on the GXY project can be found at GXY
To the full press release: GXY Press release
More about the BIOTEXFUTURE innovation space: biotexfuture
This research and development project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) as part of the “Innovation Spaces Bioeconomy” funding program (funding code: 031B0454) and supervised by Project Management Jülich (PTJ). The author is responsible for the content of this publication.