Fungal biofilms for bioremediation: metal accumulation and waste recovery

The use of fungi in materials science and industry is of growing interest, especially in the development of Engineered Living Materials (ELMs), where fungi can serve as living building blocks within material systems. Integration of living cells provides new functionalities, particularly in environmental applications. Moreover, fungi, particularly their mycelial networks, hold great potential for bioaccumulating metals and pollutants from contaminated waste streams, offering a sustainable solution for bioremediation and waste valorization. Through biosorption and biotransformation, fungal biofilms absorb, sequester, and remove metals from the environment, turning waste into a valuable resource. Fungi are widely recognized for their role in mycoremediation, with certain genera demonstrating remarkable capabilities forbioaccumulating and detoxifying metals and pollutants from various waste sources1. Commonly used genera in mycoremediation efforts include Pleurotus, Phanerochaete, and Trametes, which have been extensively studied for their ability to colonize diverse substrates, including soils and industrial waste2,3. Their extensive mycelial networks make them effective in bioremediation. One promising application is the development of mycelium-based carbon materials, sustainable by design alternatives to conventional materials in energy storage devices. The metals bioaccumulated in the fungal mycelium can be used to create ecofriendly components for batteries, supercapacitors, and other energy systems, aligning with green chemistry approaches. By utilizing fungi's bioaccumulation abilities, this concept supports the circular economy by transforming contaminated biomass into valuable resources for bio-based industries. This scalable, low-cost solution reduces environmental impacts and promotes resource recovery in waste management.