Biological nanofactories facilitate spatially selective capture and manipulation of quorum sensing bacteria in a bioMEMS device.
The emergence of bacteria that evade antibiotics has accelerated research on alternative approaches that do not target cell viability. One such approach targets cell-cell communication networks mediated by small molecule signaling. In this report, we assemble biological nanofactories within a bioMEMS device to capture and manipulate the behavior of quorum sensing (QS) bacteria as a step toward modifying small molecule signaling. Biological nanofactories are bio-inspired nanoscale constructs which can include modules with different functionalities, such as cell targeting, molecular sensing, product synthesis, and ultimately self-destruction. The biological nanofactories reported here consist of targeting, sensing, synthesis and, importantly, assembly modules. A bacteria-specific antibody constitutes the targeting module while a genetically engineered fusion protein contains the sensing, synthesis and assembly modules. The nanofactories are assembled on chitosan electrodeposited within a microchannel of the bioMEMS device; they capture QS bacteria in a spatially selective manner and locally synthesize and deliver the "universal" small signaling molecule autoinducer-2 (AI-2) at the captured cell surface. The nanofactory based AI-2 delivery is demonstrated to alter the progression of the native AI-2 based QS response of the captured bacteria. Prospects are envisioned for utilizing our technique as a test-bed for understanding the AI-2 based QS response of bacteria as a means for developing the next generation of antimicrobials.
Fernandes
Rohan
R
Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Luo
Xiaolong
X
Tsao
Chen-Yu
CY
Payne
Gregory F
GF
Ghodssi
Reza
R
Rubloff
Gary W
GW
Bentley
William E
WE
D001681:Biological Assay / Q000295:instrumentation; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems / Q000295:instrumentation*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity