Synthetic biology meets materials science
Living systems (such as cells and organisms) and electrical systems (such as computers) respond to different input information, and have diverse output capabilities. However, the fundamental property these complex systems share is the ability to process information. Over the past two decades, scientists have applied the principles of electrical engineering to design and build living cells that perceive and process information and perform desired functions. This field is called synthetic biology, and it has many exciting applications in the medical, biotechnology, energy and environmental sectors. Now a team of Freiburg researchers has brought their expertise in synthetic biology to the domain of materials science in order to engineer biohybrid materials systems that can perceive and process information.
“Thanks to major progress in our understanding of the components and wiring of biological signalling processes, we are now at a stage where we can transfer biological modules from synthetic biology to materials”, explains lead researcher Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber from the Faculty of Biology and the BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies. In three recent publications, his team has provided proof-of-concept for this approach. Using their knowledge of biological building blocks with sensing, switching and processing functions, they constructed biohybrid circuits in polymer materials, which they then interconnected to generate information-processing materials systems. These systems were able to count light pulses or enabled the sensitive detection of biomolecules by employing positive feedback loop-based signal amplification. In first prototype applications, the team used the materials systems to control multi-step biosynthesis reactions or to sensitively detect enzymes and small molecules such as antibiotics in milk.
A critical step in the development of these smart materials systems was to optimally align the activity of the biological building blocks. Similar to computers, incompatibility of individual components might crash the overall system. Key to overcoming this challenge were quantitative mathematical models developed by Prof. Dr. Jens Timmer and Dr. Raphael Engesser from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. Thanks to these models, the scientists predicted optimal system designs, which were then assembled and successfully validated.
“A great thing about these synthetic biology-inspired materials systems is their versatility”, says Hanna Wagner, the first author of one of the studies and a doctoral candidate in the Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine. The modular design concept put forth in these studies provides a blueprint for engineering biohybrid materials systems that can sense and process diverse physical, chemical or biological signals and perform desired functions, such as the amplification of signals, the storage of information, or the controlled release of bioactive molecules. These innovative materials might therefore have broad applications in research, biotechnology and medicine.
Original Publications
1. Synthetic Biology Makes Polymer Materials Count.
Beyer HM, Engesser R, Hörner M, Koschmieder J, Beyer P, Timmer J, Zurbriggen MD, Weber W.
Adv Mater. 2018 May;30(21):e1800472
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adma.201870150
2. Characterization of the synthetic biology-inspired implementation of a materials-based positive feedback loop.
Wagner HJ, Engesser R, Ermes K, Geraths C, Timmer J, Weber W.
Data Brief. 2018 May 18;19:665-677.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340918305808
3. Synthetic biology-inspired design of signal-amplifying materials systems.
Wagner HJ, Engesser R, Ermes K, Geraths C, Timmer J, Weber W. (2018)
Materials Today. doi: 10.1016/j.mattod.2018.04.006.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702118300622
Contact
Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber
Faculty of Biology / BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies
University of Freiburg
Tel.: +49 761 203 97654
E-mail: wilfried.weber@bioss.uni-freiburg.de
Prof. Dr. Jens Timmer
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics / BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies
University of Freiburg
Tel.: +49 761 203 5829
E-mail: jeti@fdm.uni-freiburg.de
More information:
Weber Lab Homepage: http://www.bioss.uni-freiburg.de/synthetic-biology/intro/
Timmer Lab Homepage: http://jeti.uni-freiburg.de