writer：Xudian Shi, Zhijun Shi, Daming Wang, Muhammad Wajid Ullah, Guang Yang*
keywords：Microbial Cells,Fe3O4 Doped,Extracellular Matrix
source：其他
specific source：Macromolecular Bioscience， 2016, 16, 1506-1514
Issue time：2016年

This study aims to develop an effective method to control motile microorganisms and enable

their manipulation as functional ‘live micro/nano robots’. A novel strategy based on Fe3O4

nanoparticle-doped alginate hydrogel is developed to fashion an artificial extracellular matrix

(ECM) for microbial cells (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Flavobacterium heparinum).

During this strategy, a single layer of alginate hydrogel is coated around the microbial cells

doped with Fe3O4 nanoparticles to form the alg-mag-cells. Transmission electron microscopy

shows that Fe3O4 nanoparticles are uniformly distributed in the hydrogel shell. Together

with maintaining the cell activity and metabolism, the hydrogel coated microbial cells demonstrate

high magnetic responsiveness in an external magnetic

field and are able to form micro-scaled patterns using

the magnetic template designed in this study. This strategy

provides a building block to fabricate advanced biological

models, medical therapeutic products, and non-medical biological

systems using different microorganisms.