Stretchable living materials and devices with hydrogel–elastomer hybrids hosting programmed cells
Name
Liu-2017-Stretchable living materials and devi.pdf
Size
1.17 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Liu, Xinyue
Tang, Tzu-Chieh
Tham, Eleonore Claire Cecilia
Yuk, Hyunwoo
Lin, Shaoting
Lu, Timothy K
Zhao, Xuanhe
Date Issued
February 2017
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Citation
Liu, Xinyue et al. “Stretchable Living Materials and Devices with Hydrogel–elastomer Hybrids Hosting Programmed Cells.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, 9 (February 2017): 2200–2205 © 2017 National Academy of Sciences
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Living systems, such as bacteria, yeasts, and mammalian cells, can be genetically programmed with synthetic circuits that execute sensing, computing, memory, and response functions. Integrating these functional living components into materials and devices will provide powerful tools for scientific research and enable new technological applications. However, it has been a grand challenge to maintain the viability, functionality, and safety of living components in freestanding materials and devices, which frequently undergo deformations during applications. Here, we report the design of a set of living materials and devices based on stretchable, robust, and biocompatible hydrogel–elastomer hybrids that host various types of genetically engineered bacterial cells. The hydrogel provides sustainable supplies of water and nutrients, and the elastomer is air-permeable, maintaining long-term viability and functionality of the encapsulated cells. Communication between different bacterial strains and with the environment is achieved via diffusion of molecules in the hydrogel. The high stretchability and robustness of the hydrogel–elastomer hybrids prevent leakage of cells from the living materials and devices, even under large deformations. We show functions and applications of stretchable living sensors that are responsive to multiple chemicals in a variety of form factors, including skin patches and gloves-based sensors. We further develop a quantitative model that couples transportation of signaling molecules and cellular response to aid the design of future living materials and devices.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Soft Active Materials Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research Laboratory of Electronics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618307114
