Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers suspended germs in photosensitive bio-resins and “trapped” the microbes in 3D structures using LED light from the LLNL-developed Stereolithographic Apparatus for Microbial Bioprinting 3D printer. The projection stereolithography maker can print at high resolution on the order of 18 microns– almost as thin as the diameter of a human cell. Credit: Illustration by Thomas Reason/LLNL
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have developed a brand-new approach for 3D printing living microbes in controlled patterns, expanding the potential for using engineered bacteria to recuperate rare-earth metals, tidy wastewater, identify uranium, and more.
Through an unique method that uses light and bacteria-infused resin to produce 3D-patterned microorganisms, the research study team effectively printed synthetic biofilms looking like the thin layers of microbial neighborhoods common in the real world. The research group suspended the germs in photosensitive bioresins and “trapped” the microorganisms in 3D structures using LED light from the LLNL-developed Stereolithographic Apparatus for Microbial Bioprinting (SLAM) 3D printer. The projection stereolithography device can print at high resolution on the order of 18 microns– almost as thin as the size of a human cell.
In the paper, which appears online in the journal Nano Letters, researchers showed the innovation can be utilized efficiently to develop structurally defined microbial neighborhoods. They demonstrated the applicability of such 3D-printed biofilms for uranium biosensing and rare-earth biomining applications and demonstrated how geometry influences the efficiency of the printed products.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists suspended bacteria in photosensitive bio-resins and “trapped” the microbes in 3D structures using LED light from the LLNL-developed Stereolithographic Apparatus for Microbial Bioprinting 3D printer. Through a novel strategy that utilizes light and bacteria-infused resin to produce 3D-patterned microbes, the research team effectively printed synthetic biofilms looking like the thin layers of microbial neighborhoods widespread in the real world. The research group suspended the bacteria in photosensitive bioresins and “trapped” the microbes in 3D structures using LED light from the LLNL-developed Stereolithographic Apparatus for Microbial Bioprinting (SLAM) 3D printer.” We are attempting to press the edge of 3D microbial culturing innovation,” said primary investigator and LLNL bioengineer William “Rick” Hynes. By enhancing and accessing used methods with higher control over the 3D structure of the microbial populations, we will be able to directly affect how they connect with each other and improve system efficiency within a biomanufacturing production procedure.”
” We are attempting to press the edge of 3D microbial culturing innovation,” stated principal detective and LLNL bioengineer William “Rick” Hynes. By enhancing and accessing used methods with higher control over the 3D structure of the microbial populations, we will be able to straight influence how they communicate with each other and improve system efficiency within a biomanufacturing production process.”
While relatively easy, Hynes explained that microbial behaviors are actually exceptionally complex, and are driven by spatiotemporal attributes of their environment, consisting of the geometric company of microbial neighborhood members. How microorganisms are arranged can impact a variety of behaviors, such as how and when they grow, what they eat, how they comply, how they protect themselves from rivals and what molecules they produce, Hynes said.
Previous approaches for producing biofilms in the laboratory have actually supplied scientists with little control over microbial company within the film, restricting the capability to fully comprehend the intricate interactions seen in bacterial neighborhoods in the natural world, Hynes explained. The ability to bioprint microorganisms in 3D will permit LLNL scientists to better observe how bacteria function in their natural environment, and investigate innovations such as microbial electrosynthesis, in which “electron-eating” germs (electrotrophs) convert surplus electrical energy during off-peak hours to produce biochemicals and biofuels.
Currently, microbial electrosynthesis is limited since interfacing in between electrodes (generally wires or 2D surfaces) and bacteria mishandles, Hynes included. By 3D printing microbes in gadgets combined with conductive materials, engineers need to accomplish a highly conductive biomaterial with a significantly expanded and improved electrode-microbe user interface, resulting in far more efficient electrosynthesis systems.
Biofilms are of increasing interest to industry, where they are used to remediate hydrocarbons, recover crucial metals, eliminate barnacles from ships and as biosensors for a range of man-made and natural chemicals. Building on artificial biology capabilities at LLNL, where bacterium Caulobacter crescentus was genetically customized to identify and draw out rare-earth metals uranium deposits, LLNL scientists explored the impact of bioprinting geometry on microbial function in the current paper.
In one set of experiments, scientists compared the healing of rare-earth metals in different bioprinted patterns and revealed that cells printed in a 3D grid can soak up the metal ions much more quickly than in traditional bulk hydrogels. The group likewise printed living uranium sensors, observing increased fluorescence in the crafted bacteria when compared to control prints.
” The development of these effective biomaterials with improved microbial functions and mass transport residential or commercial properties has essential ramifications for numerous bio-applications,” said co-author and LLNL microbiologist Yongqin Jiao. “The unique bioprinting platform not only improves system performance and scalability with enhanced geometry, but maintains cell viability and makes it possible for long-term storage.”.
LLNL scientists are continuing to deal with establishing more complicated 3D lattices and producing new bioresins with better printing and biological performance. They are examining conductive materials such as carbon nanotubes and hydrogels to transfer electrons and feed-bioprinted electrotrophic bacteria to improve production performance in microbial electrosynthesis applications. The team also is figuring out how to finest enhance bioprinted electrode geometry for making the most of mass transport of nutrients and products through the system.
” We are only just beginning to understand how structure governs microbial behavior and this technology is an action in that instructions,” stated LLNL bioengineer and co-author Monica Moya. “Manipulating both the microbes and their physiochemical environment to make it possible for more advanced function has a variety of applications that consist of biomanufacturing, remediation, biosensing/detection and even development of crafted living materials– products that are autonomously patterned and can sense/respond or self-repair to their environment.”.
Referral: “Projection Microstereolithographic Microbial Bioprinting for Engineered Biofilms” by Karen Dubbin, Ziye Dong, Dan M. Park, Javier Alvarado, Jimmy Su, Elisa Wasson, Claire Robertson, Julie Jackson, Arpita Bose, Monica L. Moya, Yongqin Jiao and William F. Hynes, 28 January 2021, Nano Letters.DOI: 10.1021/ acs.nanolett.0 c04100.
The Laboratory Directed Research and Development program moneyed the research study.
Co-authors include LLNL scientists and engineers Karen Dubbin, Ziye Dong, Dan Park, Javier Alvarado, Jimmy Su, Elisa Wasson, Claire Robertson and Julie Jackson, as well as Arpita Bose from Washington University in St. Louis.