Engineered Living Materials: Prospects and Challenges for Using Biological Systems to Direct the Assembly of Smart Materials

Abstract

Vast potential exists for the development of novel, engineered platforms that manipulate biology for the production of programmed advanced materials. Such systems would possess the autonomous, adaptive, and self-healing characteristics of living organisms, but would be engineered with the goal of assembling bulk materials with designer physicochemical or mechanical properties, across multiple length scales. Early efforts toward such engineered living materials (ELMs) are reviewed here, with an emphasis on engineered bacterial systems, living composite materials which integrate inorganic components, successful examples of large-scale implementation, and production methods. In addition, a conceptual exploration of the fundamental criteria of ELM technology and its future challenges is presented. Cradled within the rich intersection of synthetic biology and self-assembling materials, the development of ELM technologies allows the power of biology to be leveraged to grow complex structures and objects using a palette of bio-nanomaterials.

Bio‐orthogonal AIE Dots Based on Polyyne‐Bridged Red‐emissive AIEgen for Tumor Metabolic Labeling and Targeted Imaging

“…Additionally, it is evidenced that excess nutrient such as glucose is consumed by the tumor cells, resulting in a higher concentration of sialic acid on the cancerous cell surface. Thus, the tumor can be specially labeled functional groups through metabolic glycol‐engineering . Therefore, accurate tumor‐targeting imaging can realize by the combination of metabolic glycol‐engineering and bio‐orthogonal chemistry…”

“…Thus, the tumor can be specially labeled functional groups through metabolic glycol-engineering. [8] Therefore, accurate tumor-targeting imagingc an realize by the combinationo fm etabolic glycol-engineeringa nd bio-orthogonal chemistry. [9] Fluorescencen anoparticle-based bioimaging systems, benefiting from non-invasive, highly-resolved and real-time fluorescence technology,h ave attracted much attention for tumor diagnosis.…”

Iron‐Catalysed Radical Polymerisation by Living Bacteria

“…[4] Thec ombination therefore of cellular systems with synthetic or biosynthesized hybrid polymers is now allowing the formation of engineered living materials (ELMs), in which the advantages of natural and artificial systems are combined to generate aw hole new domain of "programmable matter". [5] Prokaryotic organisms offer many possibilities for the generation of biohybrid materials,and many bacterial strains are being applied as components of fuel cells, [6] bioremediation systems, [7] as well as chasses (functional containers) for synthetic biology. [8] Bacteria can synthesise av ariety of polymers that generate extracellular matrices (ECMs), encasing and supporting the cellular communities that produce them.…”

Hybrid Living Materials: Digital Design and Fabrication of 3D Multimaterial Structures with Programmable Biohybrid Surfaces

“…Yet, beyond the confines of industrial bioreactors, there are limited examples of how bioengineers can utilize the functionalities of living cells reliably, at macroscopic length scales, or outside of cells' natural environments. At present, the field of biohybrid materials combines living and nonliving components with the objective of harnessing the capabilities of biological systems within structural materials . Living cells integrated into biohybrid walls, biohybrid fibers, and bio‐bots provide early examples of how such fabrications can enable a new class of uniquely responsive and multifunctional products.…”