Abstract
1-Decanol droplets, formed in an aqueous medium containing decanoate at high pH, become chemotactic when a chemical gradient is placed in the external aqueous environment. We investigated if such droplets can be used as transporters for living cells. We developed a partially hydrophobic alginate capsule as a protective unit that can be precisely placed in a droplet and transported along chemical gradients. Once the droplets with cargo reached a defined final destination, the association of the alginate capsule and decanol droplet was disrupted and cargo deposited. Both Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis cells survived and proliferated after transport even though transport occurred under harsh and sterile conditions.
Highlights
We have been developing several types of self-moving and transforming droplet systems[6]
A chemical gradient is created with the addition of sodium chloride (3 M NaCl) and the droplet moves chemotactically towards the source of the gradient
In contrast we found that both V. fischeri and S. cerevisiae were more sensitive to such manipulations and did not consistently survive to the end of the transport step
Summary
We have been developing several types of self-moving and transforming droplet systems[6]. We have so far focused on taxis[6], shape change[7], maze-solving[8] (see also9), and rudimentary fission-fusion cycles[10] Through such studies, several key processes of living systems can be recapitulated in highly simplistic chemical and physical systems, albeit abstract and artificial in reference to the natural living systems[11,12]. The harsh conditions could include chemicals such as nitrobenzene, surfactants at levels to solubilize cell membranes, and high pH solutions (up to units of 12). Such conditions may severely affect the viability of living cells. Several alginate derivatives have been synthesized to create an amphiphilic alginate that requires the chemical modification of the alginate backbone by alkyl chains and other hydrophobic moieties[14]
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