Cargando…

Synthesis of Bioactive Microcapsules Using a Microfluidic Device

Bioactive microcapsules containing Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) spores were generated by a combination of a hydro gel, microfluidic device and chemical polymerization method. As a proof-of-principle, we used BT spores displaying enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) on the spore surface to spatia...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kim, Byeong Il, Jeong, Soon Woo, Lee, Kyoung G., Park, Tae Jung, Park, Jung Youn, Song, Jae Jun, Lee, Seok Jae, Lee, Chang-Soo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3472820/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23112592
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s120810136
Descripción
Sumario:Bioactive microcapsules containing Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) spores were generated by a combination of a hydro gel, microfluidic device and chemical polymerization method. As a proof-of-principle, we used BT spores displaying enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) on the spore surface to spatially direct the EGFP-presenting spores within microcapsules. BT spore-encapsulated microdroplets of uniform size and shape are prepared through a flow-focusing method in a microfluidic device and converted into microcapsules through hydrogel polymerization. The size of microdroplets can be controlled by changing both the dispersion and continuous flow rate. Poly(N-isoproplyacrylamide) (PNIPAM), known as a hydrogel material, was employed as a biocompatible material for the encapsulation of BT spores and long-term storage and outstanding stability. Due to these unique properties of PNIPAM, the nutrients from Luria-Bertani complex medium diffused into the microcapsules and the microencapsulated spores germinated into vegetative cells under adequate environmental conditions. These results suggest that there is no limitation of transferring low-molecular-weight-substrates through the PNIPAM structures, and the viability of microencapsulated spores was confirmed by the culture of vegetative cells after the germinations. This microfluidic-based microencapsulation methodology provides a unique way of synthesizing bioactive microcapsules in a one-step process. This microfluidic-based strategy would be potentially suitable to produce microcapsules of various microbial spores for on-site biosensor analysis.