{"id":"CU20202","slug":"durable-bacterial-cellulose--CU20202","source":{"id":"CU20202","dataset":"techtransfer","title":"Durable bacterial cellulose biotextiles for sustainable applications","description_":"<p>This technology is a method for synthesizing, tanning, and dyeing a non-toxic biomaterial suitable for water-resistant and flame-retardant textile applications. </p>\r\r<h2>Unmet Need: Non-toxic biomaterials with sufficient durability for use as textiles</h2>\r\r<p>The fashion industry is a major contributor to climate change, elevating CO2 levels and causing significant industrial water pollution. Most current sustainable alternatives still rely on conventional textile processes that are often environmentally unfriendly and water-intensive. Cellulose produced by certain bacteria shows promise as a non-toxic material for biotextiles. However, it faces limitations, such as insufficient strength, flexibility, and water resistance, that hinder its use as a fabric. </p>\r\r<h2>The Technology: Sustainable synthesis and processing method for strong and functional biotextiles</h2>\r\r<p>This technology uses a non-toxic tanning and dyeing treatment to enhance the material properties of bacterial cellulose and render it suitable for textile applications. First, bacteria are cultured under specific conditions to secrete bacterial cellulose. The cellulose biotextile is then processed with enzyme and aldehyde tanning treatments that increase the water and flame resistance, strength, and flexibility of the resulting fabric. Lastly, a range of non-toxic natural dyes derived from plants or minerals may be used to color the biotextile. This sustainable method offers reduced toxicity, carbon footprint, and water usage relative to traditional textile production processes. </p>\r\r<h2>Applications:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li>Non-toxic and biodegradable fabrics </li>\r<li>Leather substitutes</li>\r<li>Furniture upholstery</li>\r<li>Fire-retardant material for emergency tents, home furnishings, and fire blankets</li>\r<li>Protective apparel for firefighters and industrial workers</li>\r<li>Water-resistant fabric </li>\r</ul>\r\r<h2>Advantages:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li>Sustainable and eco-friendly</li>\r<li>Non-toxic</li>\r<li>Biodegradable</li>\r<li>Strong, flexible, and durable biotextile</li>\r<li>Water and flame resistant</li>\r<li>Scalable</li>\r<li>Adjustable mechanical properties</li>\r<li>No synthetic chemicals </li>\r</ul>\r\r<h2>Lead Inventor:</h2>\r\r<p><a href=\"https://hone.me.columbia.edu/people/theanne-schiros\">Theanne Schiros, Ph.D.</a></p>\r\r<h2>Patent Information:</h2>\r\r<p>Patent Pending(<a href=\"https://patents.google.com/patent/US20230146427A1\">US 17/793,030</a>)</p>\r\r<h2>Related Publications:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li><a href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9337796/\">Schiros TN, Antrobus R, Farias D, Chiu Y, Joseph CT, Esdaille S, Sanchirico GK, Miquelon G, An D, Russell ST, Chitu AM, Goetz S, Verploegh Chasse AM, Nuckolls C, Kumar SK, Lu HH. “Microbial nanocellulose biotextiles for a circular materials economy” Env Sci Adv. 2022 May 27; 1(3):276-284.</a></li>\r</ul>\r\r<h2>Tech Ventures Reference:</h2>\r\r<ul>\r<li><p>IR CU20202</p></li>\r<li><p>Licensing Contact: <a href=\"mailto:techtransfer@columbia.edu\">Dovina Qu</a> </p></li>\r</ul>\r","tags":["Aldehyde","Bacteria","Biodegradation","Biomaterial","Carbon footprint","Cellulose","Climate change","Flame retardant","Manufacturing","Water pollution"],"file_number":"CU20202","collections":[],"meta_description":"Durable, non-toxic bacterial cellulose biotextiles with enzyme tanning offer water/flame resistance for sustainable, scalable fabrics.","apriori_judge_output":"{\"scores\":{\"novelty\":4.0,\"potential_impact\":4.0,\"readiness\":4.0,\"scalability\":4.0,\"timeliness\":3.0},\"weighted_score\":3.95,\"risks\":[\"Heterogeneity of cellulose sources may affect reproducibility\",\"Regulatory/standards for textiles with enzymatic tanning\",\"Market adoption uncertainties for biotextiles vs established materials\",\"IP landscape and freedom-to-operate around tanning process\"],\"one_sentence_take\":\"Durable, toxin-free bacterial cellulose biotextiles show solid novelty and readiness with scalable path, but modest timeliness and some regulatory/IP hurdles warrant cautious optimism.\"}","inventors":["Adrian Chitu","Christian Joseph","Helen Lu","Romare Antrobus","Shanece Esdaille","Theanne Schiros"],"manager":"Dovina Qu","depts":["Biomedical Engineering","Center for Integrated Science & Engineering (CISE)","Materials Science","Mechanical Engineering"],"divs":["FAS & SEAS","Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)"],"date_released":"2026-05-01"},"highlight":{},"matched_queries":null,"score":0.0}