Open Source Body Crafting, cultivating and fabricating self health/care By Marisa Satsia
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OPEN SOURCE BODY COOKBOOK AND DIY BIOLOGY TOOLKIT
Crafting, fabricating and cultivatings self health/care
By Marisa Satsia
Final project fulfilled as part of the 6-month educational journey of fabricademy at the Basque Biodesign Centre in Bilbao 2022
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Hi!
Aknowledgements I would firstly like to thank my family and my partner for the everlasting support in whatever I do. I would also like to thank Adele Orcajada, Betiana Pavon and Anastasia Pistofidou for giving me the opportunity to study at fabricademy on a scholarship.
I can surely with no doubts say that fabricademy has changed my life and has given me the tools and knowledge to become the artist and designer that I thought I could be and even more. I would also like to thank my peers and colleagues Olatz Pereda, Eduardo Loreto, Elsa Gil and of course Arantza Tamayo for their friendship, support, trust and encouragement. I could not have gone on this journey alone and having you by my side has been a pleasure and something I will always cherish.
Special thanks go to Rallia Georgieva for the video editing of the Open Source Body project and for entering my bio-curious world and enabling me to show the best parts of the project, to Betiana Pavon for being the best creative director, curator and mentor, Giulia Tomasello, the bioart coven and the hackteria.org network.
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Contents Aknowledgements
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PART I
9
CHAPTER I- INTRODUCTION - THE CONCEPT
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Crafting, cultivating and fabricating health/care
10
Customising my lab coat - Trust me, I am a BIOARTIST!
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The BIOLAB enviroment
CHAPTER I.I- MANIFESTO, AIMS AND PHILOSOPHY Principles and manifesto of the Open Source Body Project
14-15
16-17
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PART II
21
CHAPTER II- OSB DIY BIO TOOLKIT AND COOKBOOK
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CHAPTER II.II-CRAFTING CARE
41
CHAPTER II.III-CULTIVATING CARE
59
CHAPTER II.IV-FABRICATING CARE
73
PART III
83
CHAPTER III-PERFORMING THE OPEN SOURCE BODY
Bacterial leather gloves from transluscent bacterial cellulose, Peleki 6
Conclusion
89
References
90
DIY BIOLOGY RECOURCES, ORGANISATIONS AND COLLECTIVES
92
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INTRODUCTION - THE CONCEPT
PART I Chapter I INTRODUCTION - THE CONCEPT The Open Source Body project is an intimate concept, a multisensory DIY BIOLAB experience and toolkit that aims to re-imagine developments
and of
challenge
the
technologies
current of
self
and
future
health/care.
New radical technologies of digitisin biological self, the anatomised human body, and now self health/care is an open source concept. Through experimentation with digital fabrication, DIY Biology, biofabrication and biotinkering, we aim to investigate the methods and processes in which we can autonomously craft, cultivate, fabricate and design our own biotechnologies of care. The project is an ongoing work of art that is part of a much greater concept, a manifesto, a way of life and exploring the human body and
developing health/care practices and
rituals. 8
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Open Source Body project consist of:
Crafting, cultivating and fabricating health/ care
-A material exploration section in which crafted and cultivated materials such as agar and alginate bioplastics and
What
do
digital
fabrication
technologies,
craft-
bacterial leather or cellulose are being explored for the de-
ing and cultivating biomaterials, open source hard-
velopment of bodily interfaces that can monitor and test
ware and biochrome techniques have to do with care?
the pH of bodily fluids mining bacteria and microorganisms from our own microbiome
Care is a skill that we can develop and cultivate and crafting and cultivating materials require a certain amount of trial and
-The development of our own DIY biolab equipment such
error, care, caution, patience, time, and craftmanship. For my
as hardware and labware but also bodily fluid containers in
project I want to focus on the care aspects and practices of
which we can store and analyse our biological materials.
creating open source material recipes, protocols and equipment through the use of digital fabrication, biochromes, bio-
Biofabrication + Digital fabrication
fabricating materials and open source hardware. These processes allow us to cultivate this care for more than human others but they also allow us to disseminate
+
the care through open source principles, open protocols,
Biochromes
open designs, and DIY Biology processes and methods. In
+ Open source Hardware x [DIY BIOLOGY experiments]
addition, through this project we aim to convey that project that care is not only a skill and concept but also a strategy that amplified the dissemination of knowledge and DIY Biology skills
through open source principles
and new technologies and processes but also in the crafting, cultivating and fabricating processes and practices.
=
Through these processes we become creators and innova-
OPEN SOURCE BODY
tors of our own biotechnologies and not just mere users and consumers of technologies that somebody else created for us. These processes allow us to become more autonomous in our
Microscopical photo of Hibiscus dye taken with Astropeleki microscope (renamed and modified design of Curedbio V2 microscope) 10
own health and care but not only for ourlselves, but also for our symbionts. 11
Customising my lab coat - Trust me, I am a BIOARTIST! I decided to a new labcoat just for myself. I am gifting it to myself because this period in my life is quite precious and I want to remember it. Lab coats do not have to be all white and we are not doctors!
With this idea, I want to outperform and alter the authority attached to a piece of clothing like the labcoat and the outdated knowledge and ways of caring in health/care. Medical objects, institutions, pieces of clothing, tools for visualising and exploring the body have a greater cultural and social meaning behind them, however, when we alter their meaning through artistic, collective and activist action they
I started thinking about the labcoat as a symbol of hegemony,
begin to loose their power and significance.
(bio)power and scientific knowledge and that when we see someone wearing it we instantly pay attention to them and let them control and dictate our lives. I scoured and morfanted the labcoat with Alum, even though it is 65% polyester and 35% cotton. I then tanned it with some oak galls and proceeded to dye it with Hibiscus and Red Cabbage dyes. It was extremely challenging as Hibiscus dyes are not UV resistant, as they are also fugitive dyes. When I mixed the Hibiscus with some curry powder on the bottom of the coat, the colour was brighter. I also eco printed with some leftover Hibiscus flowers and some other wild flowers I found. To me a labcoat signifies a variety of sociopolitical and cultural meanings. It is a very performative object and piece of clothing and since my project is build around open source biotechnologies, my labcoat will accompany me in all my explorations. In my explorations I get empowered by creating my own biotechnologies. Another empowering factor, is customising and wearing my labcoat. In this way, the labcoat, looses its hegemoni-
cal significance and regains a whole different meaning that I choose to attach to it, as a performer, performing my self care and open source body rituals.
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THE BIOLAB ENVIROMENT 15 14
Manifesto, aims and philosophy of the Open Source Body project This manifesto is a work in progress. The Open Source
MANIFESTO, AIMS AND PHILOSOPHY
Chapter I.I
body is an ongoing project and this was only the beggining. For the time being I created some basic biolab equipment, tools and open source hardware which helped me get started with my material exploration. I used the following developing principles and manifesto as a guide, a moral and ethical compass. The project is an ongoing work of art that is part of a much greater concept, a manifesto, a way of working with DIY Biology, a way of life and of exploring the human body and a way of developing future health/care practices and technologies. Before we start revealing what is inside the DIY Bio toolkit and cookbook, it is important to highlight the aims and philosophy of the project: -To redesign, rethink and re imagine self health/ care 16
through
open
source
technologies
such
as 17
digital fabrication, biofabrication and DIY Biology. -To make dimistify biotechnology by making it more accessible while at the same time cultivating and crafting technologies and materials that require care, time, patience and nurturing. -To create autonomous ways of self and collective health/care through care cultivating and amplifying practices such as cultivating and crafting materials, biochrome techniques and digitally fabricating hardware and bodily devices or interfac-
PRINCIPLES AND MANIFESTO OF THE OPEN SOURCE BODY PROJECT
es that are costumisable and most importantly, open source. Sharing is caring! -To influence and challenge current and future developments of technologies of self health/care. -To empower ourselves and marginalised communities through crafting, cultivating and digitally fabricating care as a way to become more active participants in our own health and create our own biotechnologies of life. -To shift the attention away from using medical/health technologies and knowledge to fix our broken bodies hence, technosolutionism, and to create novel forms and strategies in the production and dissemination of alternative modes of scientific and socio-biotechnological knowledge.
I. To embrace biological and biofabricated material/matter, the biological self and interspecies collaborations. II. To become an active participant in our own health /care and reclaim our biological agency and citizen science practices. III. To craft, cultivate, fabricate and design: -our own biotechnologies to explore the human body. -processes of care for the self and more-than human species through the process of biodesign, biofabrication, DIY biology and digital fabrication. IV. To Know thyself. V. To create strategies [tools, instruments for self exploration, biolab equipment, crafted and cultivated materials and educational resources] for radical health/care. VI. To produce, develop, disseminate and exchange DIY Biology knowledge a well as alternative modes of knowledge, care, and biological know-how through open recipes,
.
open manuals, open protocols and open source hardware.
3D renders of bodily fluid containers and collecting devices 18
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Chapter II Open Source Body DIY bio toolkit and cookbook
OSB DIY BIO TOOLKIT AND COOKBOOK
PART II
WHAT is in this book and what is its purpose? This book is an open source resource that documents the explorations and the DIY Bio toolkit of the Open Source Body project. This book lso highlights the research, inspiration, and philosophy of the project along with open source biofabrication recipes, processes, biolab hardware, toolware processes and protocols for DIY Biology and health/care cultivation. The purpose of this book is to challenge the current and future developments of biotechnologies of life and to demistify them by making them more accessible and comprehensible to all! HOW to use this book? This book should be used as an inspirational guide and as a suggestion on how to make your own DIY Biology toolkit and fabricate your own biotechnologies; DIY Biology tools, equipment and biofabricated materials.
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Feel free to recreate anything that makes you feel curious inside this cookbook as one of the main principles of the project as the title states is to remain open source.
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Hibiscus Alginate flexible biosheet
Crafting biomaterials Hibiscus and RedCabbage agar bioplastic
embroidery/ sewing
BIOFABRICATION Cultivating biomaterials
Customised labcoat
Bacterial Cellulose Kombucha
DIGITAL FABRICATION
BIOCHROMES Hibiscus dye
Lasercutting
3D printing
OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE
Cabbage dye
Astropeleki Microscope 22
Analysing by techniques and processes
What is inside the Open Source Body DIY Bio toolkit?
Orbital shaker
DIY BIO TOOLS
Bodily fluid storing containers
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The DIY Bio toolkit with some of the cultivated materials of the project 24
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OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE
Chapter II.I Open Source Hardware manuals Astropeleki microscope Orbital shaker
As I started my material exploration, I discovered that I need to put together some hardware to assist me with my explorations. When I started exoerimenting biochromes I thought the orbital shaker could be useful for this and can also be used as an agitator to remove supports from a 3D print. Apart from that, you can also use it for other mixtures that need constant agitation while biofabricating or cultivating materials.
As a bioartist and biotinkerer, a microscope is a no brainer as I really enjoy observing things that cannot be seen with a naked eye. You can make your own microscope slides and explore your microbiome, analyse bodily fluids, and other alive organisms!
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Step-by-step fabrication process
-Material of your choice in 3mm thickness
1. Lasercut all the pieces of the microscope and the LED
-An M6*60mm screw with an M5 hex nut
2. Lasercut parameters for 3mm metacrilato are:
-Glue for metacrilato or mdf board according to the material you use -Optional: Microscope glass slides, cover slips and a microscope slide holder -Soldering iron for the LED switch box
Electronic components for LED switch box
slide box in the material of your choice.
For the engraving make sure you change the mode for the lasecutter parameters to scan instead of cut. Power- 800 Speed-30
The original drawing
3. Follow the guide on the Curedbio github page on
how to put the microscope together. The CuredBio v2 instruction booklet is very comprehensible and I did not think it needs any improvements. The only improvement I can think is to translate the manual in English but the illustrations are good enough to understand how to put everything together.
1. 250VAC on-off-on toggle switch or any other switch will be fine as long as you check the specifications and wire it correctly
microscope is too loose especially the one that the slide holder is attached to.
2. Normal clear LED light
5. When you put everything together fit the lens into the
3. Any 3V battery with its holder
top part and start putting together the PCB board with the components for the LED slide box.
4. Any kind of PCB Board to mount and solder the electronics components onto.
2.
The lens was hard to find but if you cannot find one just take apart an old laser pointer to see if the lens fits in the top part. If not you can check the link I provided below.
Power-25 Speed-70-74
-Laser pointer lens
1.
Put the lens here
Tools and materials
The lens
3.
ASTROPELEKI MICROSCOPE
ASTROPELEKI MICROSCOPE - CuredBio V2 modified microscope with LED switch box
4. You can use glue if you feel like the middle part of the
Circuit and instructions for the LED switch box You will need to cut some wires and add soldering on them in order to be able to stick them with the other components. The circuit is super simple and I did not use any resistors because I put a 3V battery with a normal LED. First cut yout PCB to fit inside the lasercut box shown below. Then you join everything together with the soldering
iron
and
close
the
box.
4.
LED switch box 28
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Modified pieces -I downloaded the .dxf drawing from here. -There was an issue with the scale so I scaled it and then I traced over some problematic parts of the existing drawing and put the engravings. -Later on I decided to make the LED switch box so I modiScreenshot of the dxf. drawing of the box in Rhinoceros. Make sure to measure your electronic components so you can make them fit perfectly into the box.
fied the 2 pieces shown below.
1,
Electronics and fabrication resources
1, 2.
2.
1. Curedbio Microscope V2 page https://github.com/ Curedbio/Microscope/tree/master/
2. Curedbio Microscope V2 Full guide https://github. Latest modified drawing
Before modifying the 2 pieces and adding the box
com/Curedbio/Microscope/blob/master/Microscopy_ Guide_Full_CAT_V1_V2.pdf
3. 250VAC on-off-on toggle switch found here: https://es.aliexpress.com/item/32916338150.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2esp
TIPS Feel free to remove the customised engraved text on the microscope and put
4. Any kind of PCB Board like this one here: https:// tr.aliexpress.com/item/4000042506774.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2tur].
your own if you wish. Make sure you
5. 3V battery found here.
settings to SCAN instead of CUT
6. 3V battery holder found here.
put them on a different layer and in different colour and change the parameter and change the rest of the parameters
according
to
your
material.
7. Microscope slides and cover slips like these here. The box slides in to the cutout and sits right below the slide holder and the lens
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8. Microscope slide holder found here.
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I customised my microscope with some engravings to mark the beggining of the project. Feel free to put your own with the name of your project or your lab.
Hibiscus bacterial cellulose under the Astropeleki microscope. It looks so similar to real skin! 32
Bits of the soul of Astro, the transparent bacterial cellulose. These are the bits that form the mother.
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How to prepare and observe microscopical slides As a microphiliac and a lover of the microscop-
I observed my Hibiscus dyes, took some samples
ical world I thought it is necessary to make my
from Hibi, the Hibiscus Kombucha soul and
own microscope. It is useful for DIY material
some other somples of some tears that I collect-
explorations, biofabrication and working with
ed and bacterial cellulose pieces from my babies
fungi or other alive materials and organisms! To prepare microscope slides you need scope slides you need the glass slides and some cover slips. A pipette or an inoculation loop kind of instrument for transfering fluids. You can mine, collect some of your own bodily biomaterils like saliva, cheek cells, blood, tears and anything else you can imagine . You just have to bear in mind that your sample needs to be very thin in order for the light of the microscope to pass through it . If you want to observe a liquid you simpli take one dtop and you placei it in the middle of your glass slide. Then you hold the cover slip with some tweezers and you let go one side first and then the other one. You want to make sure that there are no air bubbles under the cover slip because that will spoil your slide. Alternatively you can place a miniscule amount of liquid on the slide and not use the cover slip. You use the cover slip when you want to somehow preserve your sample.
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Inexpensive and easy to make Orbital shaker found on thingiverse
You
can
find
customised
container
hold-
Bill of materials
Step-by-step fabrication instructions
-3D printed parts found here
1. Download the pieces that need to be 3D printed. The pieces are quite a few so if you do not have full access into a 3D printer it might take you days to print!
er in thingiverse or you can make your own.
2. Normal PLA filament will work fine for these prints just make sure when you are generating the gcode for the 3D prints that at least 30% of infill is selected because we need this piece of hardware to be strong and sturdy.
ten as is it very handy for me and the work I do. I
-Soldering iron - 5x10x15x 4mm bearings -2xM3x 25mm machine screws for mounting motor to top plate -3x M3 x 6mm Machine Screws - Used for platform -3x M3 x 8mm Machine Screws -Used for container holder -3x M3 Metric Hex Jam Nuts - Used for securing platform assembly [optional]
ers
the
platform
of
this
orbital
shak-
I made my own because I use this flask very of-
made sure I use the command make2D to export the exact lines from the 3D model . The important part is to keep these three circles in the same
3. Once you print all the pieces start by putting the box base together [this is where the electronic components will be placed].
place because it is where the screws go in and where the holder is joined with the moving platform.
4. The part with the bearrings was the hardest for me
Next extrude the surface and if you want to further
since some of the circular printer pieces needed some sanding for them to fit inside.
Electronics
for
ORBITAL SHAKER
Customising the container holder
customise the edges to look like the original piece you trace the lines and you extrude to form a surface. Then
1. DC Gearbox Motor - “TT Motor” 200RPM - 3 to 6VDC
yousplit the surfaces and you have the final thing.
2. Motor Speed Controller PWM
Screenshot from the workflow of modifying the holder in Rhinoceros
3. Panel Mount Type Mini USB 5Pin Male to Female Extension Adapter Cable with Screws 50cm
4. A power source with a mini usb head for the panel mount .
1.
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2.
3.
4.
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Step-by-step instructions for the electronic components -Cut off one side of the spinning piece coming off the motor. I did this to make the orbital shaker shorter so it could fit completely into the base. -Attach the motor to the bottom of the top plate using the M3x25mm screws. Put the base plate onto the walls.
-Put 2 bearings on/in each of the brackets except for the motor bracket, which only uses one bearing -You will need some insulating tubes that shrink when you heat them up and some insulating tape to wrap up the 2 cables of the usb panel mount you stripped away.
-Put the nub of the speed controller’s potentiometer (the part that rotates to increase or decrease speed) through the small hole in the walls and fasten into place with some M3x4mm screws (you can use slightly larger or smaller screws here) - then place the knob on.
here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3142779
2. In this website you can find a gif. that shows you how the moving part with the bearrings is constructed. https://learn.adafruit.com/crickit-lab-shaker/
4. Panel Mount Type Mini USB 5Pin Male to Female Extension Adapter Cable with Screws 50cm found here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XY5MPQM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=thingiverse09-20
-Strip the black and white wire and plug them into the respective + and - (red wire is +, black wire is -) on the speed controller. You can place some of these advesive silicone pads in
5. DC Gearbox Motor - “TT Motor” - 200RPM - 3 to
the bottom of the shaker because once you turn up
6VDC found here: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3777
the potentiometer, the container, moves around too much and this is way to stabilise the whole shaker.
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1. 3D printed parts and more instructions found
3. Motor Speed Controller PWM found here.
- Attach the USB cable to the inner part of the wall and cut the cable with enough wire to reach the motor speed controller.
-Plug the motor into the “motor” part of the speed controller (again, black is -, red is +).
Electronics and fabrication resources
6. Power source with MINI usb found here.
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CRAFTING CARE
Biochromes x Biofabrication Learning
how
to
make
natural
and
botanical
dyes
(biochromes) during the past few months has been amazing experience so I decided to further practice this skill. I knew I wanted to work with pH indicators and combine them with crafting biomaterials with agar agar and alginate so I can create sort of wearable materials that act as an interface or a visual actuator when they come in contact with bodily fluids and more particularly
CRAFTING CARE-BIOCHROMES X BIOFABRICATION
Chapter II.II
with vaginal secretions.
For myself the inspiration for this material was the way that my vaginal secretions cause discolouration on my underwear, especially during the second half of my menstual cycle.
Lactobacilli bacteria that dominate the vaginal flora for a healthy vaginal microbiome, secrete lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide, which seems to discolourise my underwear! Having this in mind I started thinking whether I can also experiment with dyeing and modifying the colour of materials and textiles using lactobacilli from my microbiome in the future!
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The golden question though is if we can create our own DIY methods to assist us in monitoring and preventing vaginal infections and microbiome dysbiosis.
Step-by-step instructions
-A pot and a stove
-Weigh 5gr of the petals and add 500ml of water into a pot and
-Glass jars to store the dye
place the petals on the stove on medium fire.
-Knife -Precision scale -Filter paper and funnel to filter and strain the dye
Anthocyanins are natural colorants which have extensive range of colors and occur widely in nature. Anthocyanins are the most important dye ranging from orange, pink, red, violet to blue in the flowers and fruits of the vascular plants. They are harmless and water soluble which makes them interesting for their use as natural water soluble colorants. Their antioxidant activity, which is known to play a vital role in the prevention of neuronal and cardiovascular illnesses, cancer, and diabetes.
If you wish to experiment with modifying the colours of your dyes add some modifiers. Modifiers change the colour but that means change in pH! Some easy to find modifiers are vinegar or lemon juice (acid), washing soda or baking soda (alkaline dissolve in water) or Aluminium Potassium Sulphate (alum liquor must be dissolved in water). I would not advise you to put the alum near your eyes,
Red Cabbage juice or dye is more commonly used in DIY Biology as a pH indicator than Hibiscus, however, research shows that there is also potential of HAE (Hibiscus aqueous extract) as a pH indicator when combined in the production of films made from Natural polymers (chitosan, gelatine and starch. The gelatine polymer in the film deemed to make the dye more UV resistant. There was also great colour change observed, from pink (pH = 2.0) to yellow (pH = 13.0) were observed(picture below).
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Materials
Natural dyes like Hibiscus and Red Cabbage contain Anthocyanins which are natural pH indicators but are also an antioxidant.
Today many of these plants that can be used for dye extraction are classified as medicinal and in recent studies have been shown to process remarkable anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-viral activity qualities.
Hibiscus dye and ink turns blue after a while, both on fabric and paper. It turns purplish with Alum and pinkish with Vinegar.
Hibiscus and Red Cabbage Dye
TIP
-For the red cabbage dye you have to wash the red cabbage well and chop it off with a good knife. Chop it off finely and place enough of the red cabbage inside the pot that it gets completely covered. You should add about 500ml of water. -Let the petals simmer in the pot for half an hour until you get a more concentrated solution of the dye. -The red cabbage requires more simmering in order to extract a good concentration of the dye since the cabbage is a tough vegetable. After 45 mins of simmering you will notice that the leaves are getting softer and are now also getting decolorised.
HIBISCUS AND RED CABBAGE DYE
Some people constantly use vaginal soaps with probiotics or other solutions that stabilise the vaginal pH because they experience microbiome dysbiosis. Some also use pH strips to check the acidity of the vaginal fluids. The vaginal microbiome consists of many microorganisms bur it is said that a healthy vaginal microbiome means Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota.
-After you are done you can filter and strain the solution into a clean glass container and store your dye in the fridge if you are not going to use it immediately!
mouth, nose and in sensitive areas. Slowly with a pipette or a dropper syringe add the modifier to your dye and observe how it changes. You may also note down the colour or make some samples from textile or on paper along with their pH measurement.
Hibiscus dye modified with Alum 43
The colour changes from greenish blue to gray and then to orangey with washing soda
Modifying the colours with Alum(left) and washing soda(right
Comparing the natural colour of the Hibiscus alginate bioplastic pad with modified dye containing washing soda 44
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Red Cabbage dye spectrum of colour without even modifying it seems to fluctuate from pH 7-8
Red Cabbage dye is a blueish colour with a pH of 7-8. In more acidic conditions, like adding a modifier, like vinegar, it will turn pinkier [pH value drops]. Also, when bacterial cellulose was added to red cabbage dye of pH 7 the colour of the dye changed from a deep purple to pinkish [left].
From purple to green with 2 drops of Alum or washing soda 46
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Materials for making the dye and the pH strips - A pot and a stove - Precision scale - Filter paper and funnel to filter the dye and strain it -Filter papers or other interfaces like bacterial cellulose or bioplastic -Knife - A glass dish or pyrex - A spray container - pH modifiers like vinegar or lemon (Acid), a base (water, use as a control) and an alkaline solution (washing soda).
-Once the paper is dry you can cut it in thin strips or use my .dxf file to lasercut he interface of your choice in the shape of the pad that I designed.
First you need to make dye from the dried Hibiscus petals or the Red Cabbage and then you have to use the dye to replace the water in the recipe! The same thing goes for adding colours to other crafted biomaterials such as agar agar and alginate bioplastics. To do that you will need these ingredients: -Dried
Hibiscus
petals
or
tea
TIPS
sachets
Step-by-step process
-Use the pH modifiers to test your material and compare it to the pH scale measurements. If you cannot get them right you might have used a wrong concentration of dyes for your strips!
-First you have to make dye from the dried Hibiscus petals or the Red Cabbage. Follow the previous recipe to prepare your dyes. Store them in the fridge and add them to your materials!
-It is preferable that you use the strips in a short period of time after you make them because these dyes are super sensitive to light and after some time the strips are not accurate or usable.
-Put your filter paper or other interface of your choice in a glass dish or pyrex and spray the paper until it is fully covered.
-Make sure your glass container is clean before you place the filter paper in order to spray it with the indicator dye to prevent contamination and mistakes in the pH reading.
-Let your filter paper dry in a dry and well ventilated area.
-You can place the strips for a few seconds in any area of the body and in the vaginal area in order for the fluid to have contact with the strip of the pH surface.
-Fresh Red cabbage (the fresher the better)
MEASURING pH LEVELS-pH INTERFACES
How to make your own pH strips
Hibiscus dye pH changes
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Spraying lasercut filter paper with Hibiscus dye to make pH sensitive interfaces for vaginal fluids
The change in pH in Hibiscus (right) vs the changes in Red Cabbage (top left) 50
Filter papers sprayed with Red Cabbage dye
Red Cabbage and Hibiscus pH sensitive interfaces 51
First, make your dye first just like I explained in the previous part
TIPS
Recipe
-To make sure the biomaterial is totally dry touch it and feel it. It should not be colder than room temperature.
- 4gr agar -25gr Glycerine -400ml of Hibiscus or Red Cabbage dye Materials -Hibiscus dried petals -Pot -Stove -Precision scale -Pad mould
-If you are planning to use this as a way to measure and monitor pH of vaginal fluids or any other sensitive areas make sure you keep the pad clean preferably in a small case. You can download the case I designed and fabricated here or scroll down to the fabricating care section of the cookbook.
I tried combining my pH sensitive dyes with 3 types of interfaces just so I can research what happends to the properties of such pH sensitive
Step-by-step instructions
dyes once it is added onto filter paper [lab grade filter paper], bacterial cellulose [either fer-
-Make your dye, filter the contents and keep 400ml aside to add to the bioplastic.
mented with the Hibiscus or soaking and spraying the bacterial cellulose in biochromes
-Heat up the dye a little bit in the pot on the stove. -Add the Glycerine (plasticizer, it gives flexibility to the material). -Add the Agar (the polymer).
BIOCHROMES x BIOPLASTICS
Hibiscus/Red Cabbage agar bioplastic 1 recipe
such as Red cabbage dye and Hibiscus dyes], and bioplastic [with agar agar and alginate]
Pouring my bioplastic into a petri dish with a piece of cotton in it. The material did not shrink as much. Could we coat this material on textiles?
I
had
bioplastic -Slowly mix everything together and keep in mind that agar takes longer to dissolve.
many and
fails
with
unfortunately
the I
did
agar not
have enough time to perfect this material however I found out that with the Hibiscus dye it is better to do a medium thickness foil and not a thick one or a thin one. The mould
-Heat in 60 degrees celcius to make sure the ingredients mix well and the agar fully dissolves!
I made was 3D printed with PLA filament.
-Simmer in 80 degrees MAX for 20 mins. -Prepare your mould. -When the mixture’s consistency is like a syrup and the mixture has thickened pour the mixture slowly into the mould. 52
Soaking bacterial cellulose in pH sensitive dyes. The cellulose seems to retain the colour really well
Hibiscus agar bioplastic sample 53
Experimenting with Red Cabbage and Hibiscus agar bioplastics. I poured the above recipes in my digitally fabricated moulds and embedded a piece of cotton fabric in the bioplastic itself
On the top- Alginate flexible biosheet in my digitally fabricated pad mould and a metacrilato (perspex) pH pad case with a piece of bacterial cellulose cut in the shape of a pad. On the bottom- All my pH pad tests. This photo diplsays all the different interfaces that I experimented with.
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Materials -Precision -Pot
or
Step-by-step instructions -Pour the 400ml of Hibiscus dye in the pot or a container.
Recipe Scale any
to
container
measure to
mix
the the
ingredients ingredients
-Hand blender -Small spatula -Your 3D printed pad mold (downloadable here) -To cure the material (optional): 10ml Sodium Chloride hydrate dissolved in 100ml of water.
-12gr Alginate
-Weigh the rest of your ingredients with a precision scale.
-40gr Glycerine -400ml water (in our case will use 400ml of Hibiscus
we dye)
-Alginate bioplastics do not require heat so you can do this recipe anywhere as long you have a hand blender!
-Add the 40gr of Glycerine. -Add the 12gr of Alginate slowly and try and slowly try to stir at the same time. -Blend the mixture with the hand blender and make sure all the Alginate is completely mixed and you have a uniform and consistent mixture.
TIPS .You can try different amounts of glycerine with less water to see what is the difference. -If you do not have any moulds, you can download mine here and 3D print it. If you do not have access to a 3D printer you can make a sheet of this material and lasercut it. -Another option is to cut the sheet in small strips if you want to use this material as a way to test pH of various chemicals at home.
-Make sure you let the mixture sit for a bit before you pour it in the mold and spread it well with a small spatula before you cure it with Sodium Chloride. -Spray the Sodium chloride and after 10 minutes wash off the Sodium Chloride really well if this material is going to be in contact with your skin. Alternatively you can try and avoid the Sodium Chloride.
ALGINATE BIOPLASTIC x BIOCHROMES
Hibiscus Alginate flexible biosheet
My digitally fabricated pad case with 3D printed buttons that hold the metacrilato pieces together.
-Let the biomaterial dry in the mold for 4-5 days. Keep in a well ventilated and dry area.
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Cultivating care-Bacterial Cellulose
CULTIVATING CARE-BACTERIAL CELLULOSE
Chapter II.III
Bacterial cellulose, or otherwise known as bacterial or microbial leather, is the biofilm material that is produced as a by product from a faermentation process such as the making of the tasty Kombucha drink. More specifically it is produced by the bacteria that are present in the process and encapsulate a microbial community within them. During the fermentation process the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) feed on sugar and tea, which causes them to produce layers of bacterial cellulose on the surface of the liquid. The fermented liquid is rich in probiotics that are beneficial for our gut health. Fermented foods, just like Kombucha, are very easy to cultivate and procuce and are considered as low tech and accessible ways of studying fermented foods and the diversity of symbiotic cultures present in them. They provide the ease of culturing microorganisms typical of simpler artificial systems, but include the diversity and complexity of natural systems.
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and
material
My first thought when I was introduced to Bacterial Cellulose was that the mother looks like an organ that is delivering oxygen to the rest of the microorganisms in the liquid while it regenerates itself with the food (sugar). It seems that bacterial cellulose has the ability to rehydrate and regain its moisture once it is placed back in the fermented liquid. Bacterial cellulose has unique properties, including biocompatibility, high water-holding capacity, high crystallinity, a fine fiber network, and high tensile strength in the wet state You can modify the shape, colour, and texture and thickness of your bacterial cellulose. You can modify the shape easily because the the bacterial cellulose will grow on the surface of the liquid and it will take the shape and size of the surface area and form you are cultivating it in. You can modify the texture while it is growing by embedding textile fibres or other materials, as the leather grows on the surface of the liquid. Another way to modify the texture, is by drying the material on different surfaces or moulds from wood, plastic
or on engraved surfaces. You can also modify the colour by adding dyes in the fermenting liquid and remove the tea from the recipe completely as this is only needed for making the Kombucha drink and not for the exclusive cultivation of bacterial leather.
Possible application scenarios for health/care Bacterial cellulose has a variety of applications in food packaging, as it can be used as paper, as well as in the self care industry with the devopment of bandaids and other beauty products. Bacterial cellulose has become established as a new biomaterial and can be used in several areas, especially for medical devices. In addition, this new biomedical material has claimed attention because of the increased interest in tissue engineering materials for wound care and regenerative medicine
Second skin/Segundo piel The application scenario that I focused on was that of the second skin. What if we can create new organ like materials to heal and regenerate skin at home? Can the skins have different colours and textures? Later on in my exploration I also experimented with using the Hibiscus dye as a pH indicator in culrivated cellulose or just spraying the dye on the surface of the material or soaking the material in the actual dye after it is harvested.
Developing new mothers from the soul, the remnants of the fermented liquid 60
How to take care of your babies -Cover your baby with a breathable fabric so you can protect it from contaminants. In this way it will have its oxygen supply that really needs to grow and it will also remain clean. -Make sure you keep it still during the whole and in a well ventilated and dry area like a board that has air inlets or some holes. The perature should be from 23-30 degrees
time cuptemmax.
Fermina
Astro
-Remove from the container and wash with neutral soap in the sink and let it in there for 5-10 mins. Keep the leftover liquid from the process in a jar or new container and place the mother/s inside. This liquid is the soul and it is rich in these symbiotic cultures of bacteria and yeast. -Rinse the leather with fresh water and place in a clean surface. Massage the surface and if you have more than 2 layers fold the ends to make the material stronger. -To make the material more durable and softer you need to post treat it with honey, hand cream or even olive oil, to keep the pellicle elastic and condition it. -Metal is not suitable for cultivating bacterial cellulose or kombucha because it might affect the growth of your material. Bacterial cellulose likes to grow into plastic or glass.
Peleki
Hibi
Agapi
The family tree of my little Kombucha family that was reproduced with the help of Fermina’s soul! From the leftovers of the fermented liquid you can make new mothers
BACTERIAL CELLULOSE MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND CARE
Observations properties
The colours and textures of my babies while wet and dry. Agapi is not yet ready to come out of her house yet as she seems to be taking more time to form! 61
Tools
Step-by-step instructions
-Pot and stove/water kettle
-Boil your water in the kettle and pour it in your container or in the pot in the stove.
-Spoon -Precision scale and/or measuring containers
-Immerse the 2 teabags in the water 5 minutes and then remove and add the sugar.
-Ethanol to sanitise your container (after you wash it with soap and water)
-Stir your liquid well and ensure that the sugar is fully dissolved.
-A plastic tub or a glass pyrex like container. Make sure there is enough depth in the container. The container can be any shape you like as bacterial cellulose takes up as much surface area you offer it to grow.
-Choose a secure but well ventilated are to put your container and preferably somewhere where it will remain still throughout the whole cultivation process. Moving around the container affects the growth of the bacterial cellulose on the surface of your liquid.
-A SCOBY mother (starter culture for fermentation process)
-Cover your container with a piece of fabric to protect the contents but in that way we also ensure that there is enough oxygen exchange.
-Cotton or other natural fibres to cover your Kombucha
-Keep your cultivated material in 23-30 degrees celsius for 10-40 days. Once the material is around 1 cm thick, take it out from the container and wash it well.
Recipe -1-1.5 litres of water -100gr white sugas -2 black tea teabags -1 SCOBY mother
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-Once the temperature of the liquid is around 30 degrees celsius you can go on and place your SCOBY mother in the container.
To dry and aftercare -Place it on a smooth plastic surface in an angle to dry for 5-6 days or on a piece of wood. The surface will affect the texture of the material. -Add natural honey or hand cream while it is drying to ensure the flexinolity and quality of the material.
Treating Astro with some natural honey after I have removed it from the container
Peleki- Transluscent Bacterial Cellulose Tools
Step-by-step instructions
-Pot and stove/water kettle
-Once you boil your water, the tea bags, and dissolve the sugar in the liquid, add the rice milk.
-Spoon -Precision scale -Plastic or glass container with some depth in any shape or size you like! -Cotton or other natural fibres to cover your Kombucha -Ethanol to sanitise your container (after you wash it with soap and water)
Recipe -500ml of water -600ml of Rice milk
-Stir it well and ensure there are no lumps in the mixture. -Wait until the temperature of the mixture drops to 30 degrees celcius to add your SCOBY mother.
ASTRO/PELEKI -TRANSPARENT /TRANSLUSCENT LEATHER
Astro- Transparent Bacterial Cellulose
-Keep the container still for 2-6 weeks depending on the disired thickness and surface area of your container.
Observations
-The colour of the wet bacterial cellulose was very light and was very transluscent. It consisted of 3 layers. One really thick one, a middle one that was almost completely stuck to the first one and a very very thin one on the bottom. -The rice milk separated from the rest of the liquid and little clots formed but after 6-7 weeks of growing, the layers of the cellulose were different in transluscensy and colour.
-2 black teabags -100 gr of white sugar -1 SCOBY mother
Glove prototype made from Peleki. Designed on Rhinoceros and then lasercut
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Glove pattern designed on Rhinoceros and cut on the lasercutter. Sewn partly on a machine but mainly with handsewing,
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How to make bacterial cellulose badaids
TIPS
-You can use the bacterial cellulose from making a Kombucha drink or from
When you re-hydrate the bacterial cellulose with the liquid and add
cultivating and growing bacterial cellulose. Once you have dried your material, you
some honey you can make body casts of the areas of the body that
can store it and re-use it by re-hydrating it with a few drops of the fermented liquid
need regeneration especially after sunburns or cuts. At the end you
or you can just use them dry. In addition, the liquid acts as an advesive and it is rich
will have really soft skin that will heal quicker and you will also have
in probiotics
some sculpture like body casts to keep! Biology and the human body are works of art.
-You can also try to freeze your bacterial cellulose and take it out when you want to re-use it and wash it with some clean water to defrost it. You can place this piece in
Another idea is to lasercut the bacterial cellulose in the shape of
a shallow dish with some liquid and it will come back to life! it has the ability to de
actual band aids and keep them clean in a container so you can use
and re-hydrate.
them whenever you are in need. If you have access to a lasercutter you can use the following parameters:
-You can also cut it in different pieces and dye them with a variety of natural dyes if you want to achieve a more diverse arange of skin colours. Just make sure you avoid
Power-75
adding pH modifiers like Aluminium Potassium Sulphate (Alum), Iron liquor and
Speed-30-34
anything else that is not suitable for the skin..
Fingertip bandaid casts from the transparent bacterial cellulose, Astro. 66
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HIBISCUS BACTERIAL CELLULOSE
Hibi-Hibiscus Bacterial Cellulose Tools
Recipe
-Pot and stove/water kettle
-30-50gr of dried Hibiscus flowers (or 1 ltr of Hibiscus dye)
-Spoon
-If you do not have the dye ready, use 1 ltr of water
Precision scale -Plastic or glass container with some depth in any shape or size you like! -Cotton or other natural fabric to cover your Kombucha -Ethanol to sanitise your container (after you wash it with soap and water)
-100gr of white sugar -10ml of natural vinegar -1 SCOBY mother
Step-by-step instructions -Simmer the Hibiscus flower in the pot in 1 ltr of water for 1520 minutes until your water becomes concentrated like a dye. If you already have the dye just warm it up slightly in the pot. -While that is simmering you can wash your container with soap and water and/or sanitize it with alcohol. -Add the vinegar in the dye and then sugar and stir well until the sugar is dissolved. -If you used the pot and stove to simmer everything, pour the contents of the pot into your container. If you do not have a pot and a stove just do all the above in your growing container. -When you can no longer see bits of sugar in the liquid, turn off the stove and once the liquid reached 30 degrees celcius you can now go on and place your SCOBY mother (starter culture) in your growing liquid . -Make sure it floats. If not, remove it with clean hands and put it upside down and observe if it floats. -Cover your container with a piece of fabric to protect the contents but in that way we also ensure that there is enough oxygen exchange. -Keep your cultivated material in 23-30 degrees celsius for 10-40 days. Once the material is around 1 cm thick, take it out from the container and wash it well.
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Hibi, a few days before I took her out. I embedded some flowers on the surface.
Spraying and soaking bacterial leather in Cabbage and Hibiscus dye works well too.
Agapi-Bacterial Cellulose with human hair Tools
Step-by-step instructions
-Same tools as previous bacterial cellulose recipes in the cookbook.
-Boil your water in the kettle and pour it in your container or in the pot in the stove.
Recipe
-Immerse the 2 tea bags in the water 5 minutes and then remove and add the sugar.
-2 cups of Rice milk
-Stir your liquid well and ensure that the sugar is fully dissolved.
-3 cups of water
-Add the Rice milk and stir well and place your container the place where you will keep it still for the next weeks.
-2 black tea bags -1 SCOBY mother - Human hair, or anything else you wish to embed, like wool fibres or other cellulose kind of fibres.
-Add your human hair, wool fibres, or any other material on the surface of the liquid and then cover the container. -Alternatively you can wait for the pellicle to start forming and then add yourhuman biomaterial. -Keep still for 3-6 weeks. -Alternatively, you can also add the material when the bacterial leather has started forming. 69
I am sure that if you ever tried to make a biomaterial of any sort you would know that while the biomaterial is drying, if it is not placed in a well ventilated and dry area it will beging to grow mold of all sorts! The truth is that this phenomenon is quite fascinating sometimes because the results can be quite beautiful. However, this situation is not ideal if you want to make a nice sample of a biomaterial or if that biomaterial will become some sort of an interface or wearable for your body. Have you ever noticed how oranges and other fruit end up growing this green type mold? Usually because biomaterials can contain biochromes or agar agar or alginate. In our case the mold that grew on our bioplastic samples were types of penicilling and I am telling you, there are so many kinds! This makes me wonder if we can you grow probiotics, antibiotics or other microorganisms that benefit our health on these crafted biomaterials? I assume for these explorations we are going to require some biohacker or microbiologist friend to help us research this. For the time being I can enjoy my beautiful moldy and microscopic friends, observe them, and learn from them!
In this experiment I am ritualising DIY Biology processes of cultivating my symbionts through nurturing them and giving them a hospitable and healthy environment to grow! I am making the invisible visible by cultivating and amplfying my microbiome. I call it some sort of microphilia (In greek Μικροφιλία:μικρό/μικροσκοπικὀ = small/microscopic and φιλία = friendship) or making kin with more than human-others and developing interspecies relationships.
Another ingredient that is widely used in biofabrication and specifically in crafting biomaterials is agar agar! Agar agar is a type of red algae that is being used in biofabrication, in molecular gastronomy and cooking generally. but also, in microbiology!!
I kept everything sterile during the making of the petri dishes so I can contaminate with my own matter which is something that in microbiology we want to avoid because contaminations are not good for our lab, our health and the work we do in there. In my case I contained the contamination and was super careful. Science is fun but please study the health and safety protocols of your lab and of the specific process before you work with bacteria. Some microorganisms are pathogenic and when you cultivate them, you amplify them, so exposure to them might cause health issues to immunosuppresent people. Always work with caution and care.
In microbiology it is being used as a substrate to cultivate microorganisms and fungi. It is being used as a solid medium but also as a liquid culture in bacterial dying of textiles. For microbiology work, you can order a labgrade powder mix or if you prefer the rebel DIY Biology way as I call it, you can even make your own home-made recipe! All you need to culture bacteria and fungi at home is:
MICROBIOME EXPERIMENTS
CRAFTED BIOMATERIALS AS MICROBIAL SCAFFOLDS
Once you extract some bodily matter either with a sterile loop or a batonet you can go on and inoculate your microbiome on the petri dishes and next you need to use parafilm to seal your petri's and pop them in the incubator where you are providing another nurturing and cosy environment for the microbial colonies to form.
-Petri dishes (preferably made from borosilicate glass as they are especially made for this kind of work! -A pressure cooker to sterilise the agar mixture and your petri dishes. -Nutrient agar mix [this will contain a part of agar agar, some salt. some glucose, a protein and some sort of vitamin! You can explore what you have at home and experiment. -Some parafilm to keep the petri dishes sealed and your bacterial/fungal colonies contained. -An incubator [optional as you can wrap your dishes in aluminum foil and keep away from light in a dark, dry and warm place].
-After 3 days your dishwill start forming colonies. A type of Penicillin growing on a piece of Red cabbage bioplastic es 70
What is microbiome? It is the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses that naturally live on our bodies and inside us. Although microbes are so small that they require a microscope to see them, they contribute in big ways to our health and wellness.
Cultivating bodily fluids like saliva and rhinal fluids and secretions on nutrient agar 71
Some of the digitally fabricated works in this part of my exploration are more personal and should
After speaking with the curator and owner of
be perceived as examples and inspiration into how
fig. 2 3D printed and lasecut filtering device
that this was a way to contain their microbes and
to speculate, design and fabricate your own bio-
prevent epidemics. When they would go home
fig. 3 3D printed pad mold for pH sensitive biomaterials
technologies through theproposed techniques. You
they would empty the container and wash it so
can also make your own bodily fluid containers or
they can take it with them again the next day.
even use glass vials or other kinds of containers.
There is something overly poetic and humanistic
fig. 1 3D printed inoculation loop
fig. 4 Lacrima 3D printed ring for collecting tears
the Kyriazis Medical museum, he mentioned
about this fact.
fig. 5 3D printed bodily fluid storing container
If you wish to digitally fabricate these tools, bodily fluid collecting devices and filtering de-
The act of containing your own microbes im-
fig. 6a-6b 3D printed lid with a loop for collecting bodily fluids
vices you can visit this link here and down-
plies that you care and respect your symbionts
load the files! Feel free to fabricate these pieces
fig. 7a-7c 3D printed loops for collecting bodily fluids
and your fellow human beings. Inspired by this
as they are, or modify and customise them or
story I decided to digitally design and fabri-
even make your own !
cate the following containers. I imagine myself
fig. 8 3D printed tear collecting container fig. 9 3D printed bodily fluid storing container fig. 10 3D printed nipples for my labcoat fig. 11 3D printed funnel and bacterial cellulose paper filter fig. 12 3D printed microscope slide holder
What does fabricating bodily fluid containers has to do with care?
as a collector and investigator of bodily fluids.
CHAPTER II.IV-FABRICATING CARE
This section includes
The act of collecting, storing and mining your own bodily matter re sets the narrative and chal-
While researching medical museum pieces, I came
lenges the idea of biotechnologies of care. Here
across a glass container that apparently was com-
is to the future of the Open Source Body project.
monly used in the late 18th and 19th centuries to collect phlegm and saliva.
fig. 13 3D printed under-eye patch moulds
Designing and 3D rendering bodily fluid collecting devices and storing containers in Rhinoceros 72
Speculating and sketching bodily fluid collecting devices and containers, image from my sketchbook 73
fig. 12
fig. 2 fig. 4
fig. 11 fig. 7a
fig. 8
fig. 10 fig. 7c
fig. 6a fig. 6b
fig. 3
fig. 13 fig. 7b fig. 1
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fig. 5
fig. 9
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Map of digitally fabricated tools and containers fig. 1 3D printed inoculation loop
fig. 7b fig. 2
3D printed and lasercut filtering
device
fig. 8
fig. 2
fig. 6a
fig. 4
fig. 7a
fig. 9
fig. 13
fig. 5
fig. 3
3D rendered map of almost all the digitally fabricated moulds, containers and collecting devices and instruments in Rhinoceros
fig. 1
fig. 5 3D printed bodily fluid storing container fig. 2
fig. 1
To find out how to use the inoculation loop go here and to download the files go here. There are more DIY ways to make an inoculation loop with a chopstick or brush stick, some fimo clay or air dry clay and some steel wire and a pin or a dremel to drill through your chopstick/brushstick to secure and glue the loop. The inoculation loop is comprised of the handle, 4 poles that make the middle part, the top part that holds the loop and a tube [in the picture above and the file I have placed 2 different sizes] that holds the thread from the top bit together to secure the steel loop.
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Still images from the third part of the video of the project, performing the Open Source Body
fig. 3 3D printed pad mould for pH sensitive biomaterials
fig. 6a-6b 3D printed lid with a loop for collecting bodily fluids
To download the mould go here. You can modify and scale this mould according to the percentage of shrinkness of your biomaterial. In the previous section of craftung care you can find examples of the samples made with using this mould.
Customise or modify the scale of the lids to fit all sorts of containers glass ones! For these lids, it is better to print them horizontally, with
fig. 4 Lacrima 3D printed ring for collecting tears
fig. 7a -7c 3D printed loops for collecting bodily fluids
For this ring, I generated a human just like I explained in fig.10 below and then I imported the model in Rhinoceros, whereexploded the 3D model in order to obtain the eye balls! I then slightly edited the geometry to make the eye ball shape smoother and then I proceeded with designing the rest of the ring. You can download here and 3D print straight away, however you can always scale the model to fit your finger/s.
You can use these 3D printed loops to capture bodily fluids and transfer them into you containers! They are similar to an inoculation loop, however, they are of PLA material so they cannot be sterilised! For this reason, I chose to use them as devices to capture bodily fluids. You can try printing them with antibacterial material or flexible PLA for more experimentation!
as well as some infill.
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fig. 8 3D printed tear collecting container This container is made to fit directly onto your eye in order for all the teardrops to be captured into the container. You can also use the lid to keep the contents safe and to make sure they will not evaporate. To further modify the lids you can place a silicone tube on the neck so it fits well onto your containers and keeps the contents extra extra safe!
3D model of the nipples that I designed and fabricated
We 3D printed the final version of the nipples in a kind of wood filament and then glued them on the labcoat
fig. 11 3D printed funnel and bacterial cellulose paper filter Bacterial cellulose or SCOBY can be used as paper filters so I decided to explore this scenario in my material exploration. I put the cellulose in the funnel and let it dry to achieve that shape. The funnel is an open source design we had on our 3D printers SD card. You can find similar ones in thingiverse.com.
fig. 9 3D printed bodily fluid storing container
fig. 12 3D printed microscope slide holder
Initially I wanted to make something that I can fit my mouth onto it, like a mouthpiece that will allow me to collect my saliva. Instead, I made this tiny vessel. You can scale it and also scale the lids to fit perfectly. You can find it here under the name saliva.
It is a good idea to either design or find an open source design of a slide holder because you want to keep yout slides clean and safe. This is another open source design I found here.
fig.10
3D printed nipples for my labcoat
fig. 12 3D printed under-eye patch moulds I made the metacrilato moulds on the right picture first thinking that I can grow my SCOBY in there, however,
Methodology
the way the mould is fabricated with having 2 layers glued to each other is not watertight. Another problematic feature is that there is not enough depth or surface area for the SCOBY to grow in there, so I decided to 3D
-Generate a human in makehuman and export the model in stl. form.
print them. The moulds work well with crafted biomaterials such as alginate and agar agar bioplastics, however,
-Import the model in Rhinoceros and choose the area you want to work with.
you can find them here.
they are not suitable for cultivating and growing materials like SCOBY. If you want to try them or modify them
-Place a box or a shape surrounding the area you want to meshTrim and execute the command. -Form a tube like surface around the nipple and BooleanSplit the two areas. You can also offset the mesh of the obtained surface if you like. 3D print and glue the nipples on your labcoat or tshirt.
3D printed under-eye patch moulds with PLA filament for SCOBY 78
Lasercut metacrilato moulds for crafted biomaterials 79
Lasercut pH pad case with 3D printed buttons After making some pH pad tests I decided to design a case for them tin Rhinoceros to keep them safe, dry and clean. I used 3 5mm pieces of metacrilato or perspex that I have also engraved the top. You can also use a 3mm piece for the top and bottom and a 5mm for the middle one, which is the piece that essentially determines the depth of your case. I extruded the surfaces and rendered them so I can have a digital prototype of the case as well as you can see here below. The 3D printed buttons are like poles that are entering all 3 layers of the case and act like a fastener. On the bottom, the button acts like a stopper so the case has a starting/ending point. I modeled some tiny circles (2) to glue on the bottom and top right side of the case so I can stabilise the left side of it since the buttons have a 1.5 mm base.
Digitally fabricated pH pad case for your DIY pH monitoring interfaces made from Metacrilato or perspex in 3mm and 5mm and 3D printed buttons to hold the case together 80
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Chapter III Performing the Open Source Body
PERFORMING THE OPEN SOURCE BODY
PART III
In this section of the cookbook I have included still images from the Open Source Body video. This is the final part of the video where I take out all the contents of the toolkit and I start performing my experiments and my rituals using my tools, equipment and materials.
I open the cabinet, and I wear my labcoat. There, I am having a moment where I feel immensely empowered to the point where I subconsciously make a power pose. This has been a fantastic journey and this is only the beggining. You can watch the whole video here.
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In the heart of the development of future health/care and biotechnology, lies biodesign, biohacking and biotinkering. Combining biofabrication techniques with digital fabrication allows us to dissemimate the care and knowledge for radical health/care. DIY Self health/care
CONCLUSION
The future of the Open Source Body project
may be a speculative or science fiction scenario to some but it this is not a new concept. Through the processes of digital fabrication, biofabrication, biochromes and open source hardware we can autonomously craft, cultivate and design our own biotechnologies and determinie the future of health/care. In this way we can influence their future applications, instead of being mere consumers of these technologies. The proposed processes become part of the strategies in which we can become more active participants in our health/care and cultivate a culture of care through sharing biological know-how and demystifying biology and science. To continue to openly share the knowledge, tools, protocols, materials and principles of the Open Source Body project is to care. Incrorporating these processes in our practise, allow us to autonomously craft, fabricate and cultivate our future health/care and also form interspecies collaborations Through the proposed processes and techniques we can start moving towards preventative care models, instead of focusing on the diagnosis and fixing broken and problematic bodies. The future goal of the Open Source Body project is to move from DIY Biology practices to Do-It-With-Others, to collectively tinker with biotechnology and to amplify our communities through the cultivation of care practices. 88
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References Peralta, J., Bitencourt-Cervi, C, M., et al, 2019. Aqueous hibiscus extract as a potential natural pH indicator incorporated in natural polymeric films, in Food Packaging and Shelf Life, Volume 19,2019, Pages 47-55, ISSN 2214-2894, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fpsl.2018.11.017, found here. Vankar, Padma S & Shukla, Dhara. (2011). Natural Dyeing with Anthocyanins from Hibiscus rosa sinensis Flowers. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 122. 10.1002/app.34415. Found here. Wells, K, 2013. Colour, health and wellbeing: The hidden qualities and properties of natural dyes in Journal of the International Colour Association (2013): 11, 28-36, found here. de Olyveira, Costa, et al. 2016. Chapter 3, Bacterial cellulose for advanced medical materials Nanobiomaterials in Soft Tissue Engineering, in Applications of Nanobiomaterials Volume 5, 2016, pp. 57-82. 2016, found here. S.S. Silva, J.M. Oliveira, H. Sá-Lima, R.A. Sousa, J.F. Mano, R.L. Reis, 2011. 2.211 - Polymers of Biological Origin, in Comprehensive Biomaterials, Elsevier, 2011, pages 187-205, ISBN 9780080552941, found here. Marsh, A. J., O’Sullivan, O., Hill, C., Ross, R. P., & Cotter, P. D. (2014). Sequence-based analysis of the bacterial and fungal compositions of multiple kombucha (tea fungus) samples. Food microbiology, 38, 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2013.09.003, found here. May, A., Narayanan, S., Alcock, J., Varsani, A., Maley, C., & Aktipis, A. (2019). Kombucha: a novel model system for cooperation and conflict in a complex multi-species microbial ecosystem. PeerJ, 7, e7565. https://doi. org/10.7717/peerj.7565, found here.
Open Source Body project links Open Source Body project video Full project documentation here Fabricating care file with all downloadable files here Sketchfab Giphy account Vimeo account
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DIY BIOLOGY RESOURCES, ORGANISATIONS AND COLLECTIVES hackteria.org, Open Source Biological Art, DIY Biology, Generic Lab equipment. It is a community, a webplatform and international network that has been active since 2009 in the field of Open source biological art. It tries to encourage the collaboration of scientists, hackers and artists to combine their experitise, write critical and theoretical reflections, share simple instructions to work with lifescience technologies and cooperate on the organization of workshops, temporary labs, hack-sprints and meetings. Hackteria operates on a global scale, and also offers ts own wiki for sharing knowledge, which enable anyone to learn but also test different ways of hacking living systems. hackteria.org wiki, for sharing knowledge around DIY and DIWO biology on a global scale. The wiki page is based on a web platform or sharing knowledge, and enables anyone to learn but also test different ways of hacking living systems. Hackteria is not based in a physical space, and its goal is to allow artists, scientists and hackers to collaborate and test various biohacking and bioart techniques outside the official laboratories and art institutions, basically anywhere in the world. Hackuarium, a community lab association in Switzerland, where biology, science and technology are being explored and participatory research is promoted. JOGL, Just One Giant Lab. Just One Giant Lab is an international community, a non-profit, open-source, collaborative platform, and a bastion to open-science and impact innovation. GOSH forum, Gathering For Open Source Hardware forum and movement. Itt serves the needs of the global Open Science Hardware community through convening meetings, publications, activities and providing a forum for the community. This movement seeks to reduce barriers between diverse creators and users of scientific tools to support the pursuit and growth of knowledge. Biomenstual, Designing Multispecies Menstrual Care, by Nadia Campo Woytuk & Marie Louise Juul Søndergaard, in collaboration with Martin Ávila (Konstfack), Antonio Capezza (KTH). Biomenstrual is a collection of biomaterial experiments, rituals, and spells for imagining, designing and practicing menstrual care beyond the human body. bioart coven, feminist bioart collective. This collective started off as a project and a class by bioartist WhiteFeather Hunter, as part of her PhD research at symbiotica, Witches in labs. This collective explores intersections of biotechnology and witchcraft and highlights how present-day witchcraft leads to important new practices of bioart, technofeminism and transhacktivism. genspace, the world’s first community biology lab. Is it a place where people of all backgrounds and identities can learn, create, and grow with the life sciences. Since 2009, they have served the greater New York area by providing hands-on STEAM education programs for youth and adults, cultural and outreach events for the public, and a membership program to support New York’s community of creatives, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Their programs demystify scientific processes, provide a platform for innovation, and cultivate the next generation of life sciences leaders in emerging global technologies, such as biotechnology, neuroscience, epidemiology, genomics, and many more. DIYbio, an institution for the Do-It-Yourself Biologist.DIYbio.org was founded in 2008 with the mission of establishing a vibrant, productive and safe community of DIY biologists. Central to their mission is the belief that biotechnology and greater public understanding about it has the potential to benefit everyone. Hibi, Hibiscus Bacterial Cellulose 92
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