(4dk) Ventures in Biofabrication: From Biological Nanofactories to Miniaturized Tools for Medicine
AIChE Annual Meeting
2010
2010 Annual Meeting
Education
Meet the Faculty Candidate Poster Session
Sunday, November 7, 2010 - 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Biofabrication involves the use of biological material such as cells, proteins and other bioactive elements as building blocks in creating tools for medical as well as non-medical purposes. In this work, we describe two different biofabrication techniques viz. the creation of biological nanofactories and miniaturized tools for medicine. Biological nanofactories are bio-inspired nanoscale factories that are comprised of multiple modules, each performing a particular function including (1) specifically targeting cells, (2) sensing and transporting raw materials present in their vicinity, (3) converting the raw materials to useful molecules, (4) transporting them back to the cell surface and (5) self-destructing upon completion of this sequence. Our nanofactories are engineered to contain modules that can target, sense and synthesize molecules that trigger communication between bacterial populations. The nanofactories are capable of eliciting the native signaling response in targeted bacteria in the absence of the native signaling molecules and can also trigger communication between bacterial populations that are otherwise non-communicating. Prospects for using these nanofactories in the creation of the next generation of anti-microbials that target bacterial communication rather than their viability are envisioned. Advances in engineering at small size scales have facilitated the creation of miniaturized tools for medicine. We describe methods to create such tools that involve the integration of cells and proteins with biocompatible materials. The tools comprise of spatially patterned cells or proteins that can be actuated to produce motion. Prospects for utilizing these miniaturized tools in minimally and non-invasive procedures are presented.