(11h) Interfacing Cells with Electrodes Using DNA ‘Velcro’

Precise control over the interaction between living systems and electroactive surfaces has been a longstanding engineering goal. The ability to maintain specificity in the placement of cells while facilitating electron transfer between the cells and an electrode surface is a key challenge in cell placement. DNA is capable of high specificity due to its self-recognition and hybridization, enabling this molecule to act as ‘velcro’ between cells modified with single-stranded DNA and an electrode modified with a complementary sequence. Through DNA hybridization-based cell adhesion, we have captured and monitored non-adherent mammalian cells, yeast, and microbes on DNA-modified electrodes. We have applied this method to the rapid assembled of monolayers of current producing cells that maintain their electron transfer capabilities prior to biofilm formation, which we attribute, at least partly, to the conductivity of DNA. DNA ‘velcro’ to interface cells with inorganic surfaces will have broad applications from diagnostic tools to biofuel cells.