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Accepted manuscript

Societal Implications of Self-Healing Engineered Living Materials: Insights from a Co-Design Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2026

V. Vekemans*
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
S. Parisi
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
J. Wu
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
E. Karana
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
*
*Author for correspondence. Email: v.c.vekemans@tudelft.nl
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Abstract

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While Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) are increasingly investigated for technical viability, discussion of their broader societal implications remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted a multidisciplinary co-design workshop centred on a self-healing biomineralised bacterial cellulose (BMBC). Twenty participants from biodesign, bio-nanoscience, materials science, and engineering worked in six groups through a three-phase process: 1) generating application concepts, 2) designing how self-healing would unfold and be experienced, and 3) reflecting on ecological, social, economic, and future implications. Workshop outcomes and discussions were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants framed self-healing not merely as functional repair but as temporal, expressive, and relational transformation, emphasizing personalisation, regeneration, trust, and systemic embedding. The study demonstrates how early, material-led design exploration can surface societal dimensions before technical pathways stabilise. We argue that multidisciplinary co-design supports more responsible ELM development by revealing how such materials may function, be interpreted, and acquire meaning in everyday contexts.

Information

Type
Full Paper: Biodesign Conference
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press