Photosynthetic microorganisms achieve long-lasting and renewable chemical production
Scientists have developed a method to entrap photosynthetic cyanobacteria within nanocellulose films to create stable, long-lived biocatalysts for chemical production. This approach addresses the efficiency issues of traditional liquid suspension cultures, such as self-shading and high water usage.
Why it matters
This innovation could lead to more sustainable and scalable industrial production of chemicals using light and carbon dioxide, reducing the environmental footprint of manufacturing.
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Add as preferred source Graphical abstract. Credit: Trends in Biotechnology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2026.06.006 Photosynthetic microorganisms can use light energy to convert carbon dioxide into useful compounds under mild, environmentally compatible conditions. However, many current photosynthetic production systems rely on cells growing freely in large volumes of liquid. This creates a substantial demand for water and requires extensive mixing to keep the cells evenly distributed and exposed to light, increasing the resource and energy requirements of the process.
"For practical chemical production, photosynthetic microorganisms need to function not only as growing cultures, but as stable and long-lived biocatalysts," says Senior Research Fellow Sergey Kosourov from the University of Turku in Finland.
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