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Red/Far-Red Light Switchable Cargo Attachment and Release in Bacteria-Driven Microswimmers.

Oya Ilke Sentürk1, Oliver Schauer2, Fei Chen1,3

  • 1Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany.

Advanced Healthcare Materials
|October 10, 2019
PubMed
Summary

Researchers developed light-controlled bacteriabots using engineered E. coli. These bacteria can attach and release cargo on demand using red and far-red light, advancing targeted delivery applications.

Keywords:
PhyB/PIF6bacteria adhesionbacteriabotsphotoswitchabilityreversibility

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Area of Science:

  • Bioengineering
  • Synthetic Biology
  • Biomedical Technology

Background:

  • Bacteria-driven microswimmers, or bacteriabots, offer potential for active cargo delivery in biomedical applications.
  • Precise control over cargo binding and release is crucial for effective bacteriabot functionality and targeted deposition.
  • Current methods lack the spatiotemporal control needed for advanced biohybrid systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a photoregulation strategy for controlling cargo integration and release in bacteriabots.
  • To utilize noninvasive red and far-red light stimuli for precise spatiotemporal control over bacteriabot behavior.
  • To demonstrate a proof-of-concept for light-switchable bacteriabots for bioengineering applications.

Main Methods:

  • Functionalizing E. coli and model cargo particles with photosensitive proteins PhyB and PIF6.
  • Utilizing the light-dependent binding and dissociation of PhyB and PIF6 for cargo attachment and release.
  • Employing red light to induce binding and far-red light to trigger dissociation of cargo from bacteria.

Main Results:

  • Engineered E. coli successfully adhered to and transported model cargo under red light illumination.
  • Cargo release was achieved on-demand upon switching to far-red light, demonstrating photoswitchable control.
  • The PhyB-PIF6 protein interaction mediated the light-controlled binding and release mechanism.

Conclusions:

  • Demonstrated a proof-of-concept for red/far-red light switchable bacteriabots.
  • This photoregulation approach opens new possibilities for biohybrid systems in bioengineering.
  • Potential applications include targeted drug delivery and advanced lab-on-a-chip devices.