Transport of Live Cells Under Sterile Conditions Using a Chemotactic Droplet

Sci Rep. 2018 May 30;8(1):8408. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-26703-y.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / cytology
  • Biological Transport
  • Chemotaxis*
  • Fatty Alcohols / metabolism*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / cytology

Substances

  • Fatty Alcohols
  • n-decyl alcohol