Hydrogel-based Bio-nanomachine Transmitters for Bacterial Molecular Communications

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the design of hydrogel-encapsulated engineered bacteria that utilize quorum sensing and positive feedback to produce and transmit molecular signals, advancing bacterial molecular communication systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel bio-nanomachine transmitter design using hydrogels and engineered bacteria with positive feedback for molecular communication applications.

Findings

Higher molecular output with lower diffusion coefficients.

Feasibility of signal propagation demonstrated in wet lab experiments.

Engineered bacteria within hydrogels can be used for biosensing.

Abstract

Bacterial quorum sensing can be engineered with a view to the design of biotechnological applications based on their intrinsic role as a means of communication. We propose the creation of a positive feedback loop that will promote the emission of a superfolded green fluorescence protein from a bacterial population that will flow through hydrogel, which is used to encapsulate the cells. These engineered cells are heretofore referred to as bio-nanomachine transmitters and we show that for lower values of diffusion coefficient, a higher molecular output signal power can be produced, which supports the use of engineered bacteria contained within hydrogels for molecular communications systems. In addition, our wet lab results show the propagation of the molecular output signal, proving the feasibility of engineering a positive feedback loop to create a bio-nanomachine transmitter that can be used for biosensing applications.