What if... we could control the Slime Mould behave into pre-designed patterns and motifs?
The below experiment shows Slime Mould growing only on those areas where attractant scented molecules were previously applied. The pattern has been screen printed with an agar based solution and the adding of attractant molecules.
Bioscent is a biotechnology inspired product that will allow you to creatively customise your garment with different scent-printed floral motifs through the interaction of a unicellular living organism and fragrances. Bioscent is a fragrance created to interact with a particular living organism called Physarum Polycephalum in order to generate scent-printed garments. Physarum Polycephalum is a genus of Slime Mould a unicellurar organism that feeds on bacterias, yeasts and fungi. It can be attracted and repelled by certain food sources as well as aromatic compounds distributing its body mass around those and making its protoplasmatic network very efficient. Following those general rules it is possible to control the Physarum growth into pre-designed patterns and motifs generating living printed textiles. Those simple volatile organic compounds can act as chemoattractant exhibiting a positive response of the plasmodial stage of the Physarum towards it or can trigger an inhibitory one.