Incorporation of stimuli-responsive bacteria in microfluidic droplets

Abstract

Cellular membrane mimics offer an exchange between two neighboring aqueous droplets. This regulated exchange may prove useful for controlling the various agents in aqueous micro-environments. The following works focuses on characterizing the bacterial response within a synthetic cellular environment. In the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) approach, aqueous micro-droplets deposited in an oil reservoir with dissolved lipids are coated with lipid monolayers and arranged into artificial cellular networks. In this study, the response of bacteria within asymmetric droplet networks separating the bacteria and a chemoattractant highlighted the efficacy of the DIB approach.