Nick is responsible for the technical process of the production of fungal colors, which come in all a full range of colors from purple to yellow. In BlueCity Lab he is cultivating the color in a bioreactor with a liquid medium that feeds the fungal mycelium. Over time and in the right conditions the yellow liquid is turning into a color. The fungi they use grow on various local waste streams in BlueCity's lab.

But where do you find these mushrooms? Nick is a big fan of foraging, besides cultivating ‘’wild types’’ they also work with fungi from sample collections, but this is very costly. Fungal samples can be collected from mushrooms (the fruiting body) or from soil. Soil samples are grown on an agar plate, grown in the right circumstances you can ‘’isolate’’ the perfect candidate. ‘’Monks work’’, Nick emphasized, but by closely observing, you can often find your right candidate. He also isolated a fungus from a food source, ‘’Mr. Red’’. Nick: ‘’Unfortunately I can’t name the strains because we are still in the development phase.’’

When the fungus has turned into a color in the bioreactor, the biomass is extracted and in some cases dried and powdered to create a pigment. This can be then mixed with water and mordant to dye textiles. Fungal dyes both adhere to cellulose (cotton, hemp, linen) and protein (wool, silk) fibers.

How to Biodesign #33 Bio Dyeing - Wrap-up