“I am continually floored by the versatility of cellulose”

Practically, two of nature’s main structural building blocks – cellulose and chitin – are assembled into functional constructions using their inherent self-assembly or directed assembly approaches, such as growth-driven assembly via the metabolism of fungal mycelium. The group’s targeted applications are in packaging and barrier materials, but also extend to other arenas that require controlled mass transport.

Prof. Abitbol brought her expertise in materials science to EPFL in June of this year. She specializes in renewable materials and was appointed to a new research chair on sustainable packaging funded jointly by BASF, Logitech, Nestlé, and SIG. The chair addresses a cross-industry need to develop better packaging solutions, with end-of-life scenarios that extend beyond incineration, landfilling, or worse, pollution.

“In my previous job, I worked closely with industry to solve their pertinent challenges,” says Abitbol. “So this opportunity to continue to engage closely with industry within an academic framework, promoting sustainable materials development, was very appealing.” Abitbol, who hails from Montreal, enjoys yoga and swimming in lakes in her spare time.

Abitbol has been studying cellulose fibers, polymers, and nanomaterials since her undergrad. “I am continually floored by the versatility of cellulose,” she says. Cellulose and its derivatives are used everywhere, in paper and board, plastics, membranes, textiles, food, pharma, personal care, and more. “Cellulose is modifiable in both chemistry and form, spanning in size from molecular to macro, and readily processed into fibers, films, nanomaterials, and hydrogels,” explains Abitbol. “This enormous possibility has fueled my interest throughout the years.”

The professor recently started working on materials made from fungal mycelium. “There are a lot of similarities between mycelium and cellulose”, she says. “The cell walls of fungi are like those of plants, in that they are composite structures made primarily from polysaccharides. But whereas the main structural polysaccharide in the plant cell wall is cellulose, in the fungal cell wall, it is chitin. Also, like cellulose, mycelium is a renewable materials resource that can be used as the starting point for new materials grown to function.”

Abitbol plans to form a multidisciplinary research group, pooling from chemists, biologists, and engineers, working together to develop material alternatives based on renewable resources. “I hope we’ll be able to attract students that are motivated to make changes toward a more sustainable future, exploring how to best produce, process, use, and dispose of these new materials” she says. “This may mean confronting and reimagining our expectations around how we use materials, to embrace responsible production and consumption practices.”