Fabricating BioMaterials

I’ve been actively looking for ways to connect sustainability with creative technology. One approach I’ve pursued is rethinking my prototyping and fabrication workflow through sustainable material experimentation. I've begun researching bio-based materials and developing the vocabulary and technical understanding needed to design my own material compositions. This work is ongoing and conducted in collaboration with postdoctoral researcher Matt Griffin.

Keywords: Fabrication, BioMaterials

Status: Ongoing research and experimentation

Recipes I've Done:

Agar Agar

Agar Agar + Glycerin

Agar Agar + Glycerin + Filler (Psyllium)

Agar Agar + Glycerin + Filler (Psyllium) + CaCO

Agar Agar

Goal: Establish a baseline agar gel recipe and observe its natural drying and mechanical behavior

Ingredients:

Agar agar powder — 8 g (2% w/v)
Water — 400 mL

Beginning to Heat Up

Clearing out

Ready

When the agar agar hit water directly before it became a mold

Results & Observations:

Agar gels at a relatively high temperature and therefore solidifies quickly at room temperature
Because of this, the working time for pouring into molds is short
Samples stored in the refrigerator did not dry due to the low temperature, slowing evaporation

Casting the sheet on a silcone mat, leaving in room temp for 15 minutes

Cut up and refridgerated

Place in an induction oven for 3 hours

Question: How can I prevent warping during drying?

Solution/Next Experiment: Introduce a plasticizer (glycerin) to improve flexibility and reduce internal stress

Agar Agar + Glycerin

Goal: Test different plasticizer ratios and observe how glycerin affects flexibility and durability

Batch 1 Ingredients:

Glycerin — 2.8 g
Water — 80 ml
Agar — 3.2 g

Batch 2 Ingredients:

Glycerin — 5.4 g
Water — 80 mL
Agar — 3.2 g

Results/Observations:

Adding glycerin noticeably increased resistance to tearing
The material became more flexible and less brittle

Question:

Could the surface friction be reduced so the material resembles acrylic more closely? (Acrylic is one of the primary materials I am hoping to replace in prototyping workflows.)

Solution/Experiment:

Apply a thin melted beeswax coating (1 g beeswax per 100 mL agar solution).

Results:

Beeswax coating helped slightly, but oil may produce a smoother finish
At this stage, I realized I should focus more on modifying the internal material properties rather than only surface treatment

Batch 3 Ingredients:

Agar — 8 g
Glycerin — 13.5 g
Water — 400 mL

Results/Observations:

Confirmed glycerin functions purely as a plasticizer
It improves bend tolerance

Question: How can the gel be made thicker and more rigid so it can resemble common prototyping materials such as acrylic or plywood?

Solution/Next Experiment: Introduce fillers to modify mechanical properties

Agar Agar + Glycerin + Filler (Psyllium)

Goal: Test psyllium powder as a filler to improve structural integrity

Ingredients:

Agar — 6 g
Psyllium — 1 g
Water — 180 mL
Glycerin — 9 g

Using a BioLab Plate to achieve consistent stiring and temperature

Husk powder made the mixture very thick

Results/Observations:

The gel shrunk A LOT
It needed way more glycerin

Question: How can I reduce shrinkage while still improving rigidity?

Solution/Next Experiment: Increase glycerin and introduce calcium carbonate as a reinforcing agent

Agar Agar + Glycerin + Filler (Psyllium) + CaCO

Goal: Test whether combining multiple fillers improves rigidity and prevents buckling

Ingredients:

Water — 180 g
Agar — 6 g
Glycerin — 8 g
Calcium carbonate — 9 g
Psyllium — 1 g

Casted gel into a cube structure instead of a sheet

Used chalk for Calcium Carbonate

Results/ Observations:

Cube walls never fully dried, while the exposed base dried faster and cracked.
Walls tore easily → indicating insufficient plasticizer
Psyllium was revealed to be hydrophilic and gel-forming. Instead of acting as a rigid particulate filler, it behaved more like a secondary hydrocolloid, contributing moisture retention rather than structural reinforcement
The walls were thick and I think that has a lot to do with the casting/mold used
Psyllium is likely not the correct filler for structural reinforcement

Question: So, the question still remains, what formulation produces a structure that: resists tearing, dries consistently, maintains rigidity, and can realistically substitute for common prototyping materials like acrylic or plywood

Solution/Next Experiments:

Try making two Agar Agar gel samples with the following fillers

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) + small amount of calcium carbonate
Wood flour

Achieving a wood- or acrylic-like biomaterial would allow for downstream fabrication processes such as cutting, machining, and structural assembly.

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