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Synthetic quorum sensing in model microcapsule colonies.

Henry Shum1, Anna C Balazs2

  • 1Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 26, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Synthetic microcapsules mimic biological quorum sensing by adjusting chemical production based on colony density and size. This behavior enables self-regulating materials, transitioning from steady to oscillatory states with changes in capsule arrangement.

Keywords:
microcapsulesquorum sensingrepressilator

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Area of Science:

  • Synthetic Biology
  • Materials Science
  • Chemical Engineering

Background:

  • Biological quorum sensing allows cells to coordinate behavior based on population density.
  • Synthetic systems mimicking quorum sensing can lead to self-recognition and self-regulation in materials.
  • Designing responsive synthetic materials is crucial for advanced device fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop theoretical models for synthetic microcapsule colonies exhibiting quorum sensing-like behavior.
  • To investigate how colony density and size influence chemical communication and collective behavior.
  • To predict transitions between different chemical activity states in synthetic colonies.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling a colony of synthetic microcapsules producing signaling molecules.
  • Implementing a biomimetic repressilator network for chemical production regulation.
  • Utilizing theory and computational simulations to analyze colony behavior.

Main Results:

  • Microcapsule chemical behavior is sensitive to colony density and the total number of capsules.
  • Decreasing capsule spacing can induce a transition from a steady, repressed state to oscillatory chemical production.
  • Increasing colony size at fixed density also promotes a transition to oscillatory behavior.

Conclusions:

  • The configuration-dependent behavior of synthetic microcapsule colonies demonstrates quorum-sensing principles.
  • Theoretical models can predict state transitions based on colony size and capsule density.
  • This work provides a foundation for designing synthetic materials with emergent self-regulating properties.