Embedding Living Cells with a Mechanically Reinforced and Functionally Programmable Hydrogel Fiber Platform

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Synthetic Biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Living materials offer programmable, dynamic, and life-like properties by integrating synthetic biology.
• A key challenge is balancing structural stability, mechanical performance, and functional programmability.
• Existing approaches often face limitations in achieving robust and versatile living material systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a living hydrogel fiber platform that synergistically integrates bacteria with hydrogel fibers.
• To achieve both functional diversity and structural/mechanical robustness in living materials.
• To establish a structure-property-function optimized platform for practical applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized microfluidic spinning to produce hydrogel fibers with tailored hierarchical porous architectures.
• Integrated genetically engineered bacteria within the hydrogel fibers to impart programmable functionalities.
• Reconstructed bacterial genetic circuits to express chromoproteins for coloration and fluorescent proteins for pollutant sensing.

Main Results:

• Successfully created a sheath-core living hydrogel fiber platform with enhanced structural and mechanical robustness.
• Demonstrated programmable coloration of living fibers using chromoproteins.
• Enabled water pollutant sensing by monitoring fluorescent protein expression in bacteria.

Conclusions:

• The developed living hydrogel fiber platform addresses the challenge of balancing stability, performance, and programmability.
• This platform provides a versatile tool for creating functional, life-like materials.
• The study accelerates the practical application of emerging living material systems.