Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
14:19
2D and 3D Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Models to Dissect Primary Cilium Involvement during Neocortical Development
Published on: March 25, 2022
4.3K
Cephalopod-inspired optical engineering of human cells
Atrouli Chatterjee1, Juana Alejandra Cerna Sanchez2, Toyohiko Yamauchi3,4
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
Nature Communications
|June 4, 2020
Summary
Researchers engineered human cells with tunable transparency, inspired by cephalopods. This breakthrough in biophotonics could enable new bioengineering tools and enhance our understanding of biological systems.
Area of Science:
- Biophotonics
- Bioengineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Animals use intrinsic transparency for camouflage.
- Achieving dynamic, controllable transparency in human cells has been a significant challenge.
- Existing methods lack the adaptability seen in nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer human cells with tunable transparency.
- To mimic the adaptive camouflage mechanisms of cephalopods.
- To develop novel biophotonic tools for science and engineering.
Main Methods:
- Inspired by adaptive cephalopod skin cells.
- Designed and engineered human cells with reconfigurable protein-based photonic architectures.
- Investigated tunable transparency-changing and light-scattering capabilities.
Main Results:
- Successfully created human cells with controllable transparency.
- Demonstrated tunable light-scattering properties.
- Established a novel method for dynamic cellular optical modulation.
Conclusions:
- Engineered human cells exhibit dynamic transparency.
- Findings offer potential for advanced biophotonic applications.
- Opens new avenues for understanding biological light interactions.
