Biological nanofactories facilitate spatially selective capture and manipulation of quorum sensing bacteria in a bioMEMS device

Rohan Fernandes; Xiaolong Luo; Chen-Yu Tsao; Gregory F. Payne; Reza Ghodssi; Gary W. Rubloff; William E. Bentley

doi:10.1039/B926846D

Biological nanofactories facilitate spatially selective capture and manipulation of quorum sensing bacteria in a bioMEMS device

Rohan Fernandes,†^ab Xiaolong Luo,†^ab Chen-Yu Tsao,^ab Gregory F. Payne,^b Reza Ghodssi,^cd Gary W. Rubloff^de and William E. Bentley*^ab

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* Corresponding authors

^a Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
E-mail: bentley@umd.edu
Fax: +1 301 405 9973
Tel: +1 301 405 4321

^b Center for Biosystems Research, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI), College Park, MD, USA

^c Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

^d Institute for Systems Research (ISR), University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

^e Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

Abstract

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.

Lab on a Chip

Biological nanofactories facilitate spatially selective capture and manipulation of quorum sensing bacteria in a bioMEMS device

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Biological nanofactories facilitate spatially selective capture and manipulation of quorum sensing bacteria in a bioMEMS device

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