Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42030145›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Improving photosynthesis by scattering hydrogel fiber-enabled volumetric illumination.

Yijie Cheng, Mohamed A Elhabet, Akhiri Zannat, Lenan Zhang, Xuanjie Wang, Yuchen Bian, Siyuan Rao, Yan Liu, Wei Liao, Yoichiro Tsurimaki and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Hydraulic Pressure-Programmed Molecular Transport in Tough Hydrogels.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yijie Cheng *Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.ORCID 0009-0002-4773-4194
Mohamed A Elhabet *Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.ORCID 0000-0002-3678-210X
Akhiri ZannatDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.ORCID 0000-0001-6421-0937
Lenan ZhangSibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Xuanjie WangDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
Yuchen BianDepartment of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.
Siyuan RaoDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902.ORCID 0000-0002-1555-487X
Yan LiuDepartment of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.ORCID 0000-0002-5039-6731
Wei LiaoDepartment of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.ORCID 0000-0002-8687-2170
Yoichiro TsurimakiDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.
Xinyue LiuDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.ORCID 0000-0002-1187-493X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Photosynthetic biomanufacturing offers a sustainable route to generate valuable bioproducts by harnessing microorganisms such as algae to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into biomass. A major barrier to efficient production is that light penetrates poorly into dense algal cultures, restricting photosynthesis to a thin surface layer and severely limiting the solar energy that can be utilized for algal growth and biomass production. Here, we present a material-based strategy to overcome this fundamental bottleneck by deploying bulk-scattering, index-matched optical fibers that redistribute sunlight uniformly throughout the culture volume. These fibers are made from amorphous hydrogels with a refractive index closely matched to that of algal media and contain scattering nanoparticles that redirect light to achieve volumetric illumination. When integrated into solar-powered algal systems, the fibers enable dense and sustained algal growth at 0.8 to 1.4 g L

Indexed as

HydrogelsOptical FibersPhotosynthesisBiomassLightSunlightHydrogelshydrogel fiberlight managementphotosynthesis

Identifiers

PMID42030145
PMCPMC13123905

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.