Jelly-Scapes

Many of us associate agar jelly with wobbly, sticky and colourful confectionary. Somewhat humble yet essential tool in biotechnology, agar also provides framework, or platform on which micro-organisms like bacteria can grow, move and function, allowing scientists to manipulate microbes in a controlled environment. Aside from current culinary and scientific affiliations, I see an alternative outlook for agar than meets the eye.

Agarose, a polysaccharide derived from agar, has become an invaluable tool in various scientific disciplines due to its unique properties and versatile applications in research and industry.

In molecular biology, agarose gel electrophoresis stands as one of the most fundamental techniques, primarily employed for separating DNA, RNA, and proteins based on their size. Agarose forms a gel matrix when cooled, creating pores of varying sizes that allow biomolecules to migrate through the gel under an electric field. This process enables scientists to analyze and purify nucleic acids or proteins, crucial for applications like DNA fingerprinting, genetic engineering, and studying gene expression.

Moreover, agarose finds widespread use in microbiology for culturing microbes in petri dishes. Its natural inertness and the ability to form a solid, porous structure provide an ideal environment for bacterial or fungal growth and isolation in laboratory settings. Agarose-based culture media facilitate the study of microorganisms, aiding in disease identification, drug development, and understanding microbial behavior.

Beyond biological sciences, agarose's applications extend to industries such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food. It serves as a stabilizing agent in various cosmetic and personal care products, providing viscosity and texture. In pharmaceuticals, agarose is utilized in drug delivery systems, encapsulation of active compounds, and as a medium for chromatography purification methods.

In the food industry, agarose acts as a thickening agent, gelling agent, or stabilizer in numerous food products due to its non-toxic and vegetarian-friendly nature. It enhances the texture of foods like jams, jellies, desserts, and even serves as a medium for microbial growth in the production of fermented foods.

Agarose's significance lies in its biocompatibility, low toxicity, and ease of use, making it an indispensable substance across various scientific and industrial domains. As technology advances, the versatility of agarose continues to be explored, leading to innovations in research methodologies, product development, and diverse industrial applications, cementing its role as a cornerstone in scientific progress and manufacturing processes.

Agar shouldn't necessarily be confined to kitchens and laboratories, but also reside in studios of designers, architects, model makers, and construction sites alike. Accessible, cheap and easy to make, we should invite agar into the design culture, as a tangible, connective medium to engage the designer with the 'unseen' world of micro-organisms.

Just as we rightly appreciate the power and the significance of micro-organisms in our everyday lives, I feel it is equally important to recognise the role of agar as the fundamental (though not exclusive) foundation on which many of the very micro-organisms depend on. Without it, many microbes cannot be grown and manipulated efficiently.

The ever-blurring boundary between the modern designer and the scientist, partly aided by DIY biology movement, will no doubt increase the demand in the design sector for employment of tools and knowledge from the scientific world, agar included. The question is, are designers really ready for it?

Before we can enable biological fiction to become reality - growing architecture, breathing objects, bio-printers etc - designers need to familiarize themselves with the language of synthetic biology, including those associated with microbial manipulation. Using agar could be one of such first steps forward, learning how they are formulated for different scenarios, and exploring ways in which they could be shaped to meet functional needs of a particular design outcome or a scenario.