Fungal Mycelia as Bioadhesives

Chapter 16 Fungal Mycelia as Bioadhesives Wenjing Sun, Wenjing Sun School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USASearch for more papers by this authorMehdi Tajvidi, Mehdi Tajvidi School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USASearch for more papers by this authorChristopher G. Hunt, Christopher G. Hunt Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI, USASearch for more papers by this author Wenjing Sun, Wenjing Sun School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USASearch for more papers by this authorMehdi Tajvidi, Mehdi Tajvidi School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USASearch for more papers by this authorChristopher G. Hunt, Christopher G. Hunt Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI, USASearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Manfred Dunky, Manfred DunkySearch for more papers by this authorK.L. Mittal, K.L. MittalSearch for more papers by this author First published: 26 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394175406.ch16 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Summary Mycelium-bonded bio-composites are an emerging class of novel materials developed over the past ten years. These have attracted significant research and commercialization interest with a steadily increasing number of papers, patents, and products. The basic idea behind these novel composites is to use fungal mycelia to bond substrates, mostly lignocellulosic biomass, together. Therefore, fungal mycelia in the system actually work as adhesives. This kind of adhesive is different from traditionally recognized resin-based adhesives in characteristics, processing, application field, and evaluation criteria. Adhesive performance evaluation depends on the form of the final product. Data on the performance of fungal mycelia adhesives is limited and inconsistent and requires more fundamental research and analysis. It appears that usual technical specifications will be achieved preferably by low-density products such as for packaging and insulation. Achieving all the required properties of standard panels, such as M2 grade particleboards, remains elusive. References M.J. Carlile , The success of the hypha and mycelium , in: The Growing Fungus , N.A.R. Gow and G.M. Gadd (Eds.), pp. 3 – 19 , Springer , Dordrecht ( 1995 ). 10.1007/978-0-585-27576-5_1 Google Scholar R.R. Lew , How does a hypha grow? The biophysics of pressurized growth in fungi , Nature Rev. Microbiol. 9 , 509 – 518 ( 2011 ). 10.1038/nrmicro2591 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar K. Cerimi , K.C. Akkaya , C. Pohl , B. Schmidt and P. Neubauer , Fungi as source for new Biobased materials: A patent review , Fungal Biol. Biotechnol . 6 , 17 ( 2019 ). PubMedGoogle Scholar H.A.B. 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