Fungal Mycelium Films Engineered as Renewable Fibrous Materials for Drug Delivery

Sustainable materials are increasingly relevant in drug delivery technologies. Food-grade fungal mycelium, already widely consumed as part of the human diet, offers a renewable source of fibrous substrates. Here, we report mycelium films from Rhizopus oligosporus as a naturally derived biomaterial for use in oral drug delivery. R. oligosporus mycelium films were produced using solid-state cultivation, yielding porous, mechanically compliant structures that could be shaped into defined 3D geometries through micro-cutting and template-guided growth. These films accommodated small-molecule drug cargo and particulate formulations, acting either as passive carrier matrices or as structured interfaces that enabled modulation of drug release behavior in model systems. Biological interactions were evaluated using in vitro cell models and short-term in vivo gastrointestinal transit studies in rats, where no cytotoxic effects or abnormal passage were observed under the tested conditions. Together, these findings demonstrate the potential of mycelium films as sustainable, shape-malleable fibrous materials with tunable functional properties for future applications in oral drug delivery.