Veroudering en verjonging Natuurlijke processen als inspiratie voor de ontwikkeling van nieuwe materialen Henk Jonkers / Life Sciences
Ageing Centre ...
Veroudering en verjonging Natuurlijke processen als inspiratie voor de ontwikkeling van nieuwe materialen Henk Jonkers / Life Sciences
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
Challenge the future
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Aging and lifetime performance in humans
www.agingintodaysworld.com
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
www.perspirationjournal.com Challenge the future
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Aging and lifetime performance in humans
http://fitsanity.com/2011/07/athletic-performance-peak-age/ Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Aging and lifetime performance in humans
Performance is limited at birth Increases to a maximum Decreases back to zero at the day of death Age of performance peak: 26.0 years for track and field sports 21.0 years for swimming 31.4 years for chess
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Relationship telomere length and age in humans
# Human body: 100 trillion cells # Chromosomes genes # Each ‘arm’ single DNA molecule: 100 million bases long # Telomere at tip of arm # Shortens after each cell division # At birth: 15.000 bases long # End of life: 5.000 bases long
# Reproductive cells do not age! Stem Cell Information, The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research, Appendix C: Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Human Embryonic Germ Cells. Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Non-aging reproductive cells -
The case of the naked mole rat… A long lived subterranean rodent from the Horn of Africa They live in a colony with a complex social structure, ranging in size from 75 to 200 individuals Naked mole-rats can live over 30 years, approximately ten times longer than any other species of rat
http://naked-mole-rat.org/
Their bodies never degenerate, extremely resistant to cancer, they can reproduce until death, and they keep their looks (relatively speaking) and brain-power to the end There is a single breeding queen and one to three breeding males The other individuals in the colony are temporary
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
sterile workers Challenge the future
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Micro-organisms:
asexual reproduction (cloning), do not necessarily ‘age’
Bio-inspiration for reduced aging and rejuvenation of materials Example: STW (TUD coordinated) BioGeoCivil Engineering program (www.biogeocivil.nl)
Goals: 1) Use bio-based processes for improving sustainability performance of geo- and civil engineering practices 2) Develop (novel) bio-based materials with superior service life performance
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Biologists
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
Civil Engineers
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→ BioGeoCivil Started in 2011 with 6 projects: 1. Fungal biofilms (coating) for wood protection (BioWoPro) 2. Bacteria-based repair and performance improvements of aged concrete structures (BioRetrofit) 3. Bacteria-based ground stabilization to mitigate liquefaction and piping of granular sediments (BIOFIX) 4. Engineering of bacterial biofilms on buildings and infrastructure as a basis for natural protection 5. Lift up Lowlands: upgrading of natural materials (bio-remediation of sludge) for sustainable lift up of low lying polder areas 6. Towards the development of carbondioxide neutral renewable cement (BioCement): replace Portland cement for biomass-derived ash
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Example: 1. Fungal biofilms (coating) for wood protection (BioWoPro) (Samson et al. KNAW/TUE)
Biofilms of Aureobasidium pullulans (Sailer et al 2010) can be used as a living protective coating for wood Shows clear advantages compared to traditional wood-coatings in terms of sustainability and self-repair Reduced aging / increased service life
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Example: 2. Bacteria-based repair and performance improvements of aged concrete structures (BioRetrofit) (Jonkers et al. TUD )
Development of bacteria-based concrete compatible and sustainable repair systems Reduced aging / increased service life
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Example: 3. Bacteria-based ground stabilization to mitigate liquefaction and piping of granular sediments (BIOFIX) (van Paassen et al. TUD)
Sustainable ground improvement through microbial calcium carbonate precipitation Sustainable / increased service life
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Example: 4. Engineering of bacterial biofilms on buildings and infrastructure as a basis for natural protection (Heimovaara et al. TUD/UU/NIOO)
Reduced corrosion and degradation of building materials as a result of microbial activities and biofilm formation Sustainable / increased service life
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Example: 5. Lift up Lowlands: upgrading of natural materials (bio-remediation of sludge) for sustainable lift up of low lying polder areas (Grotenhuis et al WUR/TUD)
Microbial activity can change dredged sediments from a costly waste into a valuable resource Sustainable / up-cycle waste
Ageing Centre for Materials and Structures
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Example: 6. Towards the development of carbon dioxide neutral renewable cement (BioCement) (Jonkers et al. TUD/WUR)
Replace Portland cement for biomass-derived ash Sustainable / increased service life
Fig 3. Diatom (left, size ca. 20 µm) and Coccolithophorid (right, ca. 2 µm) algae which produce silicate- and calcium carbonate-based skeletons respectively. Source: www. ucmp.berkeley.edu and www.mbari.org
