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Cited by 258

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 64 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Hydrogel-based biocontainment of bacteria for continuous sensing and computation

Open access
Tang, Tzu-Chieh, Tham, Eléonore, Liu, Xinyue, Yehl, Kevin, Rovner, Alexis J., Yuk, Hyunwoo, de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar, Isaacs, Farren J., Zhao, Xuanhe, Lu, Timothy K.·2021·Nature Chemical Biology

Abstract

Genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) can enable a wide range of important applications including environmental sensing and responsive engineered living materials. However, containment of GMMs to prevent environmental escape and satisfy regulatory requirements is a bottleneck for real-world use. While current biochemical strategies restrict unwanted growth of GMMs in the environment, there is a need for deployable physical containment technologies to achieve redundant, multi-layered and robust containment. We developed a hydrogel-based encapsulation system that incorporates a biocompatible multilayer tough shell and an alginate-based core. This deployable physical containment strategy (DEPCOS) allows no detectable GMM escape, bacteria to be protected against environmental insults including antibiotics and low pH, controllable lifespan and easy retrieval of genomically recoded bacteria. To highlight the versatility of DEPCOS, we demonstrated that robustly encapsulated cells can execute useful functions, including performing cell–cell communication with other encapsulated bacteria and sensing heavy metals in water samples from the Charles River. A dual-layer encapsulation approach provides physical containment of genetically modified bacteria (especially when combined with chemical containment) while also protecting them from environmental stressors and maintaining their sensing functions.

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Metadata

Authors
Tang, T.-C., Tham, E., Liu, X., Yehl, K., Rovner, A. J., Yuk, H., de la Fuente-Nunez, C., Isaacs, F. J., Zhao, X., & Lu, T. K.
Venue
Nature Chemical Biology
Published
2021-04-05
Volume
17
Issue
6
Pages
724-731
ISSN
  • 1552-4450 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-4469
OpenAlex
W3149090762
Cited by
258
References
64
FWCI
10.25
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
bronze

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Hydrogel-based biocontainment of bacteria for continuous sensing and computation. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41589-021-00779-6
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Tang, T.-C., Tham, E., Liu, X., Yehl, K., Rovner, A. J., Yuk, H., de la Fuente-Nunez, C., Isaacs, F. J., Zhao, X., & Lu, T. K. (2021). Hydrogel-based biocontainment of bacteria for continuous sensing and computation. Nature Chemical Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-021-00779-6

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