Programming Cells for Dynamic Assembly of Inorganic Nano-Objects with Spatiotemporal Control.

Area of Science:

• Synthetic Biology
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Biofilms are bacterial communities that can be engineered for specific functions.
• Organizing inorganic nano-objects (NOs) with precision is crucial for developing new hybrid materials.
• Current methods for nano-object assembly often lack scalability and dynamic control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for programming dynamic biofilm formation for spatiotemporally controlled nano-object assembly.
• To create ordered ensembles of NOs and bio-abiotic hybrid materials.
• To demonstrate a scalable and hierarchical approach for nano-assembly using engineered bacteria.

Main Methods:

• Engineered *Escherichia coli* to sense blue light and produce biofilm curli fibers for spatial control.
• Utilized light-inducible biofilm formation to pattern inorganic nano-objects.
• Controlled sequential addition of NOs to fabricate multilayered heterostructures via autonomous layer-by-layer assembly.

Main Results:

• Achieved spatially controlled biofilm formation and synchronized assembly of discrete NOs or hetero-nanostructures.
• Demonstrated diverse and complex fluorescent quantum dot patterns with a minimum resolution of 100 µm.
• Successfully fabricated multilayered heterostructured thin films through biologically dynamic self-assembly.

Conclusions:

• Biologically dynamic self-assembly offers a novel platform for advancing nanotechnologies.
• This strategy enables the creation of complex nanostructures and hybrid materials challenging to produce with conventional methods.
• The engineered bacterial system provides a scalable, dynamic, and hierarchical approach to nano-object organization.