Antonucci Alessandra, Reggente Melania, Roullier Charlotte, Gillen Alice J, Schuergers Nils, Zubkovs Vitalijs, Lambert Benjamin P, Mouhib Mohammed, Carata Elisabetta, Dini Luciana, Boghossian Ardemis A
Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Institute of Biology III, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2022 Oct;17(10):1111-1119. doi: 10.1038/s41565-022-01198-x. Epub 2022 Sep 12.
The distinctive properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have inspired the development of many novel applications in the field of cell nanobiotechnology. However, studies thus far have not explored the effect of SWCNT functionalization on transport across the cell walls of prokaryotes. We explore the uptake of SWCNTs in Gram-negative cyanobacteria and demonstrate a passive length-dependent and selective internalization of SWCNTs decorated with positively charged biomolecules. We show that lysozyme-coated SWCNTs spontaneously penetrate the cell walls of a unicellular strain and a multicellular strain. A custom-built spinning-disc confocal microscope was used to image the distinct near-infrared SWCNT fluorescence within the autofluorescent cells, revealing a highly inhomogeneous distribution of SWCNTs. Real-time near-infrared monitoring of cell growth and division reveal that the SWCNTs are inherited by daughter cells. Moreover, these nanobionic living cells retained photosynthetic activity and showed an improved photo-exoelectrogenicity when incorporated into bioelectrochemical devices.
单壁碳纳米管（SWCNTs）的独特性质激发了细胞纳米生物技术领域许多新型应用的发展。然而，迄今为止的研究尚未探讨SWCNT功能化对原核生物细胞壁跨膜运输的影响。我们研究了革兰氏阴性蓝细菌对SWCNTs的摄取，并证明了带正电荷生物分子修饰的SWCNTs存在被动的长度依赖性和选择性内化。我们表明，溶菌酶包被的SWCNTs能自发穿透单细胞菌株和多细胞菌株的细胞壁。使用定制的转盘共聚焦显微镜对自发荧光细胞内独特的近红外SWCNT荧光进行成像，揭示了SWCNTs高度不均匀的分布。对细胞生长和分裂的实时近红外监测表明，SWCNTs可被子细胞继承。此外，这些纳米仿生活细胞保留了光合活性，并在被整合到生物电化学装置中时表现出增强的光外产电性能。
