Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 20, 2025
07:50
Plasmid-derived DNA Strand Displacement Gates for Implementing Chemical Reaction Networks
Published on: November 25, 2015
14.7K
Self-powered molecule release systems activated with chemical signals processed through reconfigurable Implication or
Paolo Bollella1, Zhong Guo2, Selvakumar Edwardraja3
1Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, NY 13699, USA.
Bioelectrochemistry (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|January 22, 2021
Summary
Researchers created switchable Boolean logic gates using engineered enzymes for reconfigurable biosensors. These enzyme-based logic gates enable self-powered biofuel cells that control molecule release based on processed signals.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Enzyme Engineering
- Biosensors
Background:
- Boolean logic gates are fundamental in computation.
- Enzyme-based logic systems offer potential for biosensing and molecular computing.
- Pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (PQQ-GDH) is a key enzyme for glucose sensing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer switchable Implication (IMPLY) and Inhibition (INHIB) Boolean logic gates using modified PQQ-GDH enzymes.
- To demonstrate reconfigurable logic systems based on enzyme composition and input signals.
- To integrate these logic gates into a self-powered biofuel cell for controlled molecule release.
Main Methods:
- Construction of switchable chimeric PQQ-GDH-Clamp enzymes.
- Implementation of IMPLY and INHIB logic gates in solution and on immobilized electrodes.
- Electrochemical transduction of logic gate outputs.
- Integration of logic gates into a biofuel cell with bilirubin oxidase.
Main Results:
- Successfully realized IMPLY and INHIB Boolean logic gates using engineered PQQ-GDH enzymes.
- Demonstrated reconfigurable logic systems activated by different input signals.
- Developed switchable electrodes for electrochemical signal transduction.
- Created a self-powered biofuel cell controlled by logic gates for molecule release.
Conclusions:
- Engineered PQQ-GDH enzymes enable the creation of versatile, switchable Boolean logic gates.
- Immobilized enzyme logic gates can be integrated into biofuel cells for advanced biosensing applications.
- The developed system represents a self-powered device for controlled molecule release triggered by logical signal processing.
Related Concept Videos
01:32Types of Signaling Molecules
12.0K
In multicellular organisms, many molecules transmit signals between cells to pass information. These signals vary in complexity and include small peptides, nucleotides, steroids, fatty acid derivatives, and dissolved gases such as nitric oxide. Some signaling molecules diffuse through the plasma membrane to act locally between neighboring cells or travel long distances. Others remain attached to the cell surface, transmitting information to other cells only when they make contact. In some...
12.0K
01:23Overview of Cell Signaling
22.9K
Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
22.9K
01:45Positive Regulator Molecules
119.3K
To consistently produce healthy cells, the cell cycle—the process that generates daughter cells—must be precisely regulated.
119.3K
02:39Positive Regulator Molecules
6.2K
Mitotic cell division results in daughter cells that exactly resemble the parent cell. However, errors in the DNA replication or distribution of genetic material may lead to genetic mutations that may be passed down to every new cell formed from the resulting abnormal cell. Propagation of such mutant cells is restricted through checkpoint mechanisms present at different stages of the cell cycle. These checkpoints involve regulator molecules that either promote or demote cell cycle events.
6.2K
01:30Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
3.4K
Ligand-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that play a vital role in intercellular communication and functions of the nervous system. They allow the influx of ions across the membrane once the neurotransmitter binds, allowing the subsequent transmission of electrical excitation across the neurons. Other ligand-gated ion channels, like the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, permit anions like chloride into the cells on the binding of the GABA molecule. Their entry into the cell...
3.4K
01:19Ligand-gated Ion Channels
13.5K
Ligand-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins with a channel for ions to pass through and a binding site for a ligand. The channel opens only when a ligand attaches to the binding site.
Three Subfamilies of Ligand-gated Ion Channels
Ligand-gated ion channels fall into three subfamilies. The 'Cys-loop' includes the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors. The second one is the 'Pore-loop' channels that...
Three Subfamilies of Ligand-gated Ion Channels
Ligand-gated ion channels fall into three subfamilies. The 'Cys-loop' includes the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors. The second one is the 'Pore-loop' channels that...
13.5K