2022 Annual Meeting
(126H) Active Fluctuations in a Self-Healing Epithelial Mimetic Build from Biohybrid Components
Authors
Kamat, N., Northwestern University
Steinkuehler, J., Northwestern University
Tran, P., Northwestern University
Prindle, A., University of California, San Diego
With the depletion of fossil fuels used for energy production, the search for alternative energy sources is necessary. One promising alternative is biomechanical energy, which is the energy captured from the movement of living organisms. The capture of biomechanical energy from microorganisms is particularly attractive due to their mobility and relative ease of cultivation. One method to capture this microbial energy is to incorporate microorganisms into biohybrid materials, or materials composed of both living and non-living components. Here, we present a biohybrid material comprised of a membrane foam, containing millions of cell-sized compartments, embedded in an aqueous environment. Remarkably, these structures span lateral dimensions of millimeters and exhibit self-reassembling properties, making them reminiscent of an epithelial monolayer. We synthesize these tissue-like structures by producing aqueous microdroplets, promoting surfactant-lipid exchange, and generating droplet networks through a liquid-liquid phase transfer. We characterize these tissue-like structures using a variety of methods and discuss their mechanical properties. Finally, we demonstrate that our tissue-like structures are readily functionalized by cell-free expressed protein or whole cells. We found that the movement of bacteria encapsulated within these structures induces active membrane fluctuations. We further show that these active fluctuations can mobilize microplastic particles deposited on the surface of a biohybrid material. Thus, we introduce a platform for bottom-up assembly of bioinspired self-healing surface coatings that can harness biomechanical energy to impose mechanical forces on its surroundings.