Biobased and biofabricaterd materials for edible elecronics
Tinkering and biotinkering for electronic food
During the doctoral path, I had the pleasure to join the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Milan as a visiting PhD. Here I collaborated with the research team of the ElFo project (Electronic Food) for the development of biobased and biofabricated materials for edible electronics. Working with Fabrizio Mario Ferrarese, a PhD student from CNST, we could enlarge the material portfolio for edible electronics with new applications and recipes from biofabricated materials. Moreover, I concluded my visiting period by providing a workshop on edible DIY-Materials to PhD and researchers of the Elfo Project, where I shared the DIY-Material and biotinkering approaches. Collaborations across design and science don't have to be necessarily speculative, the role of a designer-in-lab can be strategic and feasible for innovation.
Publications with the first results are expected for 2024
Edible electronics
In recent years, a growing interest has been shown in biodegradable and bio-based electronics. Organic electronics are gaining more and more interest, being seen as a sustainable alternative to support new production models. Whitin this field edible electronics have biocompatibility and edibility as key material features, aiming to positively contribute to (self-)monitoring and targeted body care. Although still in its infancy, the field of edible electronics is already generating significant scientific interest by imagining a technology that is safe for consumption, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and degrades within the body after serving its purpose.
Transdisciplinary collaborations
During the period as visiting PhD I collaborated on the ElFo project with the Printed and Molecular Electronics group, headed by Mario Caironi, within the Center for Nano Science and Technology (CNST) at PoliMi. To date, some first material samples have been created in close collaboration with Fabrizio Mario Ferrarese, a PhD student from CNST, under the supervision of Alessandro Luzio and Mario Caironi. Publications on this work will follow.
Barbara Pollini | is a PhD candidate in Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan. With a master in Ecodesign and Eco-innovation and a MA in Computational Design, since 2010 she's dealing with sustainable design and materials, as a designer, educator and researcher. Since 2014 she has been investigating sustainable materials, focusing on the relationship between materials and design for sustainability from different perspectives (circular/biobased/made in waste/DIY/biofabricated materials). For her doctoral research, she is addressing biodesign, an approach arising from the intersection between design, biology and technology; her study lies at the intersection between the constantly evolving concept of sustainability, the material design discipline, and biodesign, aiming at defining biofabricated materials' abilities in restorative and regenerative processes, focusing on living materials and life-enabling materials (e.g. bioreceptive ones).
Fabrizio Mario Ferrarese | received B.S. degree in Materials Science at University of Tor Vergata (Rome), followed by a M.S. degree in Materials Science at University of Padua in collaboration with ENEA (Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile) where he did a year of Internship for the thesis project. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with the Center for Nano Science and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan, working on the ELFO project investigating the electrical and toxicological properties of edible electronic devices.
