Sugar-Fueled Dissipative Living Materials

Dissipative behaviors in biology are fuel-driven processes controlled by living cells, and they shape the structural and functional complexities in biological materials. This concept has inspired the development of various forms of synthetic dissipative materials controlled by time-dependent consumption of chemical or physical fuels, such as reactive chemical species, light, and electricity. To date, synthetic living materials featuring dissipative behaviors directly controlled by the fuel consumption of their constituent cells is unprecedented. In this paper, we report a chemical fuel-driven dissipative behavior of living materials comprising Staphylococcus epidermidis and telechelic block copolymers. The macroscopic phase transition is controlled by D-glucose which serves a dual role of a competitive disassembling agent and a biological fuel source for living cells. Our work is a significant step toward constructing a synthetic dissipative living system and provides a new tool and knowledge to design emergent living materials.

Automated summary

Dissipative behaviors in biology are controlled by living cells and shape the complexities of biological materials. The development of synthetic dissipative materials controlled by time-dependent consumption of fuels has been inspired by this concept. In this paper, we report a chemical fuel-driven dissipative behavior in living materials composed of Staphylococcus epidermidis and telechelic block copolymers, controlled by both a competitive disassembling agent and a biological fuel source. Our work is a significant step towards constructing a synthetic dissipative living system and provides new knowledge for designing emergent living materials.