scholarly journals Living Materials Constructed with Dynamic Covalent Interface between Synthetic Polymers and B. subtilis

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyuna Jo ◽  
Seunghyun Sim
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Synthetic Polymers ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Subtilis Cell ◽  
Covalent Bonds ◽  
Encapsulated Cells ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multivalent Effect ◽  
Living Materials

With advances in the field of synthetic biology increasingly allowing us to engineer living cells to perform intricate tasks, incorporating these engineered cells into the design of synthetic polymeric materials will enable programming materials with a wide range of biological functionalities. However, employable strategies for the design of synthetic polymers that form a well-defined interface with living cells and seamlessly integrate their functionalities in materials are still largely limited. Herein, we report the first example of living materials constructed with a dynamic covalent interface between synthetic polymers and living B. subtilis cells. We showedthat 3-acetamidophenylboronic acid (APBA) and polymers of APBA (pAPBA) form dynamic covalent bonds with available diols on the B. subtilis cell surface. Importantly, pAPBA binding to B. subtilis shows a multivalent effect with complete reversibility upon addition of competitive diol species, such as fructose and sorbitol. On the basis of these findings, we constructed telechelic block copolymers with pAPBA chain ends that crosslink B. subtilis cells and produced self- standing living materials. We further demonstrated that the encapsulated cells could be retrieved upon immersing these materials in solutions containing competitive diols and further subjected to biological analyses. This work establishes the groundwork for building a myriad of synthetic polymeric materials integrating engineered living cells and provides a platform for understanding the biology of cells confined within materials.

scholarly journals Advances in the Multi-Orthogonal Folding of Single Polymer Chains into Single-Chain Nanoparticles

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Agustín Blazquez-Martín ◽  
Ester Verde-Sesto ◽  
Angel J. Moreno ◽  
Arantxa Arbe ◽  
Juan Colmenero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulations ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Synthetic Polymers ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Polymer Chains ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
High Dilution ◽  
Covalent Bonds ◽  
Covalent Interactions ◽  
Individual Polymer

The folding of certain proteins (e.g., enzymes) into perfectly defined 3D conformations via multi-orthogonal interactions is critical to their function. Concerning synthetic polymers chains, the “folding” of individual polymer chains at high dilution via intra-chain interactions leads to so-called single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs). This review article describes the advances carried out in recent years in the folding of single polymer chains into discrete SCNPs via multi-orthogonal interactions using different reactive chemical species where intra-chain bonding only occurs between groups of the same species. First, we summarize results from computer simulations of multi-orthogonally folded SCNPs. Next, we comprehensively review multi-orthogonally folded SCNPs synthesized via either non-covalent bonds or covalent interactions. Finally, we conclude by summarizing recent research about multi-orthogonally folded SCNPs prepared through both reversible (dynamic) and permanent bonds.

scholarly journals Biosynthesis of Nature-Inspired Unnatural Cannabinoids

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2914
Author(s):  
Kevin J. H. Lim ◽  
Yan Ping Lim ◽  
Yossa D. Hartono ◽  
Maybelle K. Go ◽  
Hao Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Therapeutic Agents ◽  
Orphan Receptors ◽  
Complex Chemical ◽  
Biological Targets ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Commercial Use ◽  
Wide Range

Natural products make up a large proportion of medicine available today. Cannabinoids from the plant Cannabis sativa is one unique class of meroterpenoids that have shown a wide range of bioactivities and recently seen significant developments in their status as therapeutic agents for various indications. Their complex chemical structures make it difficult to chemically synthesize them in efficient yields. Synthetic biology has presented a solution to this through metabolic engineering in heterologous hosts. Through genetic manipulation, rare phytocannabinoids that are produced in low yields in the plant can now be synthesized in larger quantities for therapeutic and commercial use. Additionally, an exciting avenue of exploring new chemical spaces is made available as novel derivatized compounds can be produced and investigated for their bioactivities. In this review, we summarized the biosynthetic pathways of phytocannabinoids and synthetic biology efforts in producing them in heterologous hosts. Detailed mechanistic insights are discussed in each part of the pathway in order to explore strategies for creating novel cannabinoids. Lastly, we discussed studies conducted on biological targets such as CB1, CB2 and orphan receptors along with their affinities to these cannabinoid ligands with a view to inform upstream diversification efforts.

scholarly journals Quantitative linear dichroism imaging of molecular processes in living cells made simple by open software tools

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Bondar ◽  
Olga Rybakova ◽  
Josef Melcr ◽  
Jan Dohnálek ◽  
Petro Khoroshyy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
Linear Dichroism ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Software Tools ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Membrane Properties ◽  
Polarization Microscopy ◽  
Molecular Processes ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractFluorescence-detected linear dichroism microscopy allows observing various molecular processes in living cells, as well as obtaining quantitative information on orientation of fluorescent molecules associated with cellular features. Such information can provide insights into protein structure, aid in development of genetically encoded probes, and allow determinations of lipid membrane properties. However, quantitating and interpreting linear dichroism in biological systems has been laborious and unreliable. Here we present a set of open source ImageJ-based software tools that allow fast and easy linear dichroism visualization and quantitation, as well as extraction of quantitative information on molecular orientations, even in living systems. The tools were tested on model synthetic lipid vesicles and applied to a variety of biological systems, including observations of conformational changes during G-protein signaling in living cells, using fluorescent proteins. Our results show that our tools and model systems are applicable to a wide range of molecules and polarization-resolved microscopy techniques, and represent a significant step towards making polarization microscopy a mainstream tool of biological imaging.

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Fabrication of Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane-Based Composite Materials

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3497
Author(s):  
Piotr Stachak ◽  
Izabela Łukaszewska ◽  
Edyta Hebda ◽  
Krzysztof Pielichowski
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Synthesis Method ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Oh Groups ◽  
New Class ◽  
Hazardous Chemical ◽  
Wide Range

Polyurethanes (PUs) are a significant group of polymeric materials that, due to their outstanding mechanical, chemical, and physical properties, are used in a wide range of applications. Conventionally, PUs are obtained in polyaddition reactions between diisocyanates and polyols. Due to the toxicity of isocyanate raw materials and their synthesis method utilizing phosgene, new cleaner synthetic routes for polyurethanes without using isocyanates have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Among different attempts to replace the conventional process, polyaddition of cyclic carbonates (CCs) and polyfunctional amines seems to be the most promising way to obtain non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) or, more precisely, polyhydroxyurethanes (PHUs), while primary and secondary –OH groups are being formed alongside urethane linkages. Such an approach eliminates hazardous chemical compounds from the synthesis and leads to the fabrication of polymeric materials with unique and tunable properties. The main advantages include better chemical, mechanical, and thermal resistance, and the process itself is invulnerable to moisture, which is an essential technological feature. NIPUs can be modified via copolymerization or used as matrices to fabricate polymer composites with different additives, similar to their conventional counterparts. Hence, non-isocyanate polyurethanes are a new class of environmentally friendly polymeric materials. Many papers on the matter above have been published, including both original research and extensive reviews. However, they do not provide collected information on NIPU composites fabrication and processing. Hence, this review describes the latest progress in non-isocyanate polyurethane synthesis, modification, and finally processing. While focusing primarily on the carbonate/amine route, methods of obtaining NIPU are described, and their properties are presented. Ways of incorporating various compounds into NIPU matrices are characterized by the role of PHU materials in copolymeric materials or as an additive. Finally, diverse processing methods of non-isocyanate polyurethanes are presented, including electrospinning or 3D printing.

Dynamic Covalent Bonds in Polymeric Materials

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (29) ◽  
pp. 9682-9695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Progyateg Chakma ◽  
Dominik Konkolewicz
Keyword(s):  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Covalent Bonds

scholarly journals Originals of operating images for generalized problems of unsteady heat conductivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Kartashov
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Bessel Functions ◽  
Applied Mathematics ◽  
Operational Calculus ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Thermal Reaction ◽  
Heaviside Step Function ◽  
External Influences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Variable Function

A series of operating (Laplace) non-standard images, the originals of which are absent in well-known reference books on operational calculus, are considered. By reducing one of the basic images to the Riemann-Mellin contour integral for the modified Bessel functions and analyzing the corresponding inversion formula using the approaches of the complex variable function theory, an analytical form of the original original is found, which is abrupt in nature with a break point. It is shown that analytical solutions of the corresponding mathematical models using the found originals have a wave character, which is expressed by the presence of the Heaviside step function in the solutions. The latter means that at any time there is a region of physical disturbance to the point of discontinuity and an unperturbed area after the point of discontinuity. The images studied are included in the operational solutions of mathematical models in many areas of applied mathematics. physics, thermomechanics, thermal physics, in particular in the theory of thermal shock of viscoelastic bodies, in the study of the thermal reaction of solids based on the classical Maxwell-Cattaneo-Lykov-Vernott phenomenology, taking into account the final rate of heat propagation. These models are needed to study the thermal reaction of relatively new consolidated structurally sensitive polymeric materials in structures exposed to high-intensity external influences. The analytical relations obtained for the originals and the original improper integrals resulting from them, containing combinations of Bessel functions, can be used in the general methodology of constructing and applying various mathematical models in a wide range of external influences on materials in many fields of science and technology.

scholarly journals Cell-free genetic devices confer autonomic and adaptive properties to hydrogels

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette J. Whitfield ◽  
Alice M. Banks ◽  
Gema Dura ◽  
John Love ◽  
Jonathan E. Fieldsend ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Smart Materials ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Self Healing ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractSmart materials are able to alter one or more of their properties in response to defined stimuli. Our ability to design and create such materials, however, does not match the diversity and specificity of responses seen within the biological domain. We propose that relocation of molecular phenomena from living cells into hydrogels can be used to confer smart functionality to materials. We establish that cell-free protein synthesis can be conducted in agarose hydrogels, that gene expression occurs throughout the material and that co-expression of genes is possible. We demonstrate that gene expression can be controlled transcriptionally (using in gel gene interactions) and translationally in response to small molecule and nucleic acid triggers. We use this system to design and build a genetic device that can alter the structural property of its chassis material in response to exogenous stimuli. Importantly, we establish that a wide range of hydrogels are appropriate chassis for cell-free synthetic biology, meaning a designer may alter both the genetic and hydrogel components according to the requirements of a given application. We probe the relationship between the physical structure of the gel and in gel protein synthesis and reveal that the material itself may act as a macromolecular crowder enhancing protein synthesis. Given the extensive range of genetically encoded information processing networks in the living kingdom and the structural and chemical diversity of hydrogels, this work establishes a model by which cell-free synthetic biology can be used to create autonomic and adaptive materials.Significance statementSmart materials have the ability to change one or more of their properties (e.g. structure, shape or function) in response to specific triggers. They have applications ranging from light-sensitive sunglasses and drug delivery systems to shape-memory alloys and self-healing coatings. The ability to programme such materials, however, is basic compared to the ability of a living organism to observe, understand and respond to its environment. Here we demonstrate the relocation of biological information processing systems from cells to materials. We achieved this by operating small, programmable genetic devices outside the confines of a living cell and inside hydrogel matrices. These results establish a method for developing materials functionally enhanced with molecular machinery from biological systems.

From Never Born Proteins to Minimal Living Cells: Two Projects in Synthetic Biology

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 605-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pier Luigi Luisi ◽  
Cristiano Chiarabelli ◽  
Pasquale Stano
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Living Cells

scholarly journals Blueprints for Biosensors: Design, Limitations, and Applications

Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Carpenter ◽  
Ian Paulsen ◽  
Thomas Williams
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Optimal Performance ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Ligand Specificity ◽  
Biotechnological Application ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Output Time

Biosensors are enabling major advances in the field of analytics that are both facilitating and being facilitated by advances in synthetic biology. The ability of biosensors to rapidly and specifically detect a wide range of molecules makes them highly relevant to a range of industrial, medical, ecological, and scientific applications. Approaches to biosensor design are as diverse as their applications, with major biosensor classes including nucleic acids, proteins, and transcription factors. Each of these biosensor types has advantages and limitations based on the intended application, and the parameters that are required for optimal performance. Specifically, the choice of biosensor design must consider factors such as the ligand specificity, sensitivity, dynamic range, functional range, mode of output, time of activation, ease of use, and ease of engineering. This review discusses the rationale for designing the major classes of biosensor in the context of their limitations and assesses their suitability to different areas of biotechnological application.

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