Living wearables: Bacterial reactive glove

Area of Science:

• Biofabrication and Living Electronics
• Biophysics and Complex Systems Analysis

Background:

• A reactive bacterial glove utilizes Acetobacter aceti, a living bacterial colony, biofabricated onto a cellulose hydrogel-coated cotton glove.
• This living coating functions as a bioelectronic sensing device, exhibiting complex electrical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel analytical method for characterizing the intricate electrical spike trains generated by the bacterial colony.
• To investigate the response of the bacterial glove to external mechanical stimuli through its electrical activity patterns.

Main Methods:

• Dynamic entropy analysis was employed to study the complex electrical activity of the bacterial colony.
• Kolmogorov complexity was utilized to analyze the evolution and dynamics of electrical activity waves within the hydrogel.
• The study involved applying mechanical triaxial stimuli to the bacterial glove to observe its electrical responses.

Main Results:

• The bacterial glove demonstrated the ability to generate traveling patterns of electrical activity in response to mechanical triaxial stimuli.
• Analysis revealed that stimuli initiate electrical activity waves across the glove, characterized by diffractive properties.
• These propagating electrical waves are eventually suppressed by a phenomenon termed 'depression'.

Conclusions:

• Living substrates, such as bacterial colonies, can be engineered into reactive sensing wearables.
• The implementation of excitation wave propagation and reflection paradigms is key to realizing the potential of these bioelectronic devices.
• This research paves the way for novel applications in wearable technology and bio-integrated sensing systems.