Project Details
Projekt
Smart Stimuli-Responsive Opalescent Bacterial Films (OPAL-Bac)
Subject Area
Polymer Materials
Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers
Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541220630
The field of tuneable colloidal crystals and elastomeric opal films based on stimuli-responsive polymeric core-shell architectures has sparked much interest among researchers as optical sensors or membranes in the last decade. The interplay of the optical properties of such materials with external triggers attracted enormous attention. Feasible stimuli comprise e.g., temperature, ionic strength, light, or the application of an electrical field or mechanical stress. The interaction of such interesting architectures has not been engineered concerning living species and their changes in the environment to influence optical properties. This would enable the preparation of a direct optical and highly sensitive readout signal for bacteria e.g. in terms of probiotic wound films indicating the performance of the film incorporating the cells (target pH reached or change of color due to low quality during application) or Lactobacilli- or glucose oxidase-induced H2O2-detection with redox-responsive moieties of stimuli-responsive polymers. Within this project, we will combine our expertise in functional polymer and adaptive material preparation with the formulation of different bacteria to develop a new generation of sensing systems based on living materials. Stimuli-responsive soft particle architectures featuring a biocompatible shell will be developed for immobilization and scaffolding bacteria. The particle-based materials can be processed via microextrusion, followed by opal film preparation via the application of the melt-shear organization technique, hot edge processing, or the so-called bending-induced oscillatory shearing process (BIOS). This approach will form a colloidal crystal lattice surrounded by an elastomeric shell matrix, resulting in iridescent reflection colors according to Bragg’s law of diffraction. The bacteria will be implemented within the soft-shell material and either added before processing, during mild microextrusion, during film formation, or in an individual post-processing step forming a bacteria-responsive free-standing opaline film. Bacteria or SporoBeads will be selected based on their capability for changing the pH value or redox potentials (H2O2 production, glucose oxidase) in their local environment for direct communication with the opaline architecture leading to a change of optical properties.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
