3D printed coral structures could lead to better biofuels

The research from Cambridge University and University of California San Diego could also help to repair and restore coral reefs. Their results are reported in Nature Communications.

Race to save the Great Barrier Reef

In the natural world, coral provides a host for the algae which produce sugars to the coral through photosynthesis. This relationship is responsible for coral reefs, which provide some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth.

"Corals are highly efficient at collecting and using light," said first author Dr Daniel Wangpraseurt, a Marie Curie Fellow from Cambridge's Department of Chemistry. "In our lab, we're looking for methods to copy and mimic these strategies from nature for commercial applications."

Wangpraseurt and his colleagues 3D printed coral structures and used them as incubators for algae growth. They tested various types of microalgae and found growth rates were over 100 times higher than in standard liquid growth mediums.

To create the intricate structures of natural corals, the team used a rapid 3D bioprinting technique originally developed to print artificial liver cells.