Fugetaxis of Cell‐in‐Catalytic‐Coat Nanobiohybrids in Glucose Gradients

Abstract

Manipulation and control of cell chemotaxis remain an underexplored territory despite vast potential in various fields, such as cytotherapeutics, sensors, and even cell robots. Herein is achieved the chemical control over chemotactic movement and direction of Jurkat T cells, as a representative model, by the construction of cell‐in‐catalytic‐coat structures in single‐cell nanoencapsulation. Armed with the catalytic power of glucose oxidase (GOx) in the artificial coat, the nanobiohybrid cytostructures, denoted as Jurkat[Lipo_GOx], exhibit controllable, redirected chemotactic movement in response to d‐glucose gradients, in the opposite direction to the positive‐chemotaxis direction of naïve, uncoated Jurkat cells in the same gradients. The chemically endowed, reaction‐based fugetaxis of Jurkat[Lipo_GOx] operates orthogonally and complementarily to the endogenous, binding/recognition‐based chemotaxis that remains intact after the formation of a GOx coat. For instance, the chemotactic velocity of Jurkat[Lipo_GOx] can be adjusted by varying the combination of d‐glucose and natural chemokines (CXCL12 and CCL19) in the gradient. This work offers an innovative chemical tool for bioaugmenting living cells at the single‐cell level through the use of catalytic cell‐in‐coat structures.

Organismal Function Enhancement through Biomaterial Intervention

“…Carefully designing the physicochemical properties of biomaterials and exploring the synergistic effects among various biomaterials can yield unexpected and modularly diverse functions of living organisms. Particularly, using environmentally responsive biomaterials, such as the artificial organelles with pH-responsive switches [ 8 ] and the artificial coat that enable cells to respond to glucose gradients for directed movement [ 176 ], can achieve controlled interactions between living organisms and their external environment. It can be reasonably expected that the combination of complex and diverse biomaterials will help us construct more sophisticated components for living organismal modifications.…”