{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T21:44:39Z","timestamp":1787262279522,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776988800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    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\n                    <jats:sup>\u22121<\/jats:sup>\n                    over 2 mo of semicontinuous outdoor cultivation, resulting in volumetric biomass productivity of 0.15 g L\n                    <jats:sup>\u22121<\/jats:sup>\n                    day\n                    <jats:sup>\u22121<\/jats:sup>\n                    and photosynthetic efficiency of 1.4%, significantly higher compared to algal systems without fibers. This study demonstrates the transformative potential of optical modulation to the long-standing low productivity in dense algal culture, providing a scalable, sustainable, and efficient pathway for solar-driven biomanufacturing.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2536344123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T16:25:02Z","timestamp":1777047902000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Improving photosynthesis by scattering hydrogel fiber\u2013enabled volumetric illumination"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4773-4194","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yijie","family":"Cheng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University","place":["East 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