Runtao Zhu, Jiao Zhang, Lin Wang, Yunfeng Zhang, Yang Zhao, Ying Han, Jing Sun, Xi Zhang, Ying Dou, Huaxiong Yao, Wei Yan, Xiaozhou Luo, Junbiao Dai, Zhuojun Dai
Functionalizing materials with biomacromolecules such as enzymes has broad applications in biotechnology and biomedicine. Here, we introduce a grafting method mediated by living cells to functionalize materials. We use polymeric scaffolds to trap engineered bacteria and micron-sized particles with chemical groups serving as active sites for grafting. The bacteria synthesize the desired protein for grafting and autonomously lyse to release it. The released functional moieties are locally grafted onto the active sites, generating the materials engineered by living grafting (MELGs)...
March 5, 2024: Cell Systems