Glad to share our review article on @natrevbioeng on how to engineer microbial biosensors that generate electrical outputs⚡. Importantly, we propose interdisciplinary approaches to transform these bioelectronic sensors into the field. 1/11 https://t.co/6cLSNHEQrb

Great to see our research featured in @Newsweek's 'Daily Dose'! We explored how bacteria like Lactococcus lactis cleverly balance making essential vitamin K2 without it becoming toxic. A huge team effort with @SiliangLi3, @oleg_igoshin, @AjoFranklinLab!

Happy to share the latest work from the group, where we show a technique to amplify signals in microbial fuel cells. This can help make a new type of living bacterial device more sensitive and practical. Read the article here:

Just out @natrevbioeng, check out our perspective on integrating bioelectronics with cell-based synthetic biology. Shout out to this awesome crew: @veiseho, Tzahi Cohen-Karni, @DrRituRaman, @GallowayLabMIT, @JTRobinsonLab, and Christian Schreib https://t.co/bQ3ejDpIKm 🧵1/7

Congrats @XiaoyuYang6 @idmjky @BashorLab and others on this masterpiece!

Really excited to share this synthetic phosphorylation piece out @ScienceMagazine. We present design rules for engineering synthetic phosphorylation circuits and its application in engineering cell therapy. https://t.co/QZLNqELc4e

This work will undoubtedly shake the field of protein engineering and synthetic biology. Congrats @XiaoyuYang6 !

One final publication for 2024! This work was spearheaded by @CarlaMenegatti but was the ultimate team effort with collaborations with @apheloria, Anne Brown, Thomas Williamson, and Tappey Jones. So happy to finally be able to share this story. @VTChemDept

Thrilled to share that EVOLVEpro is now published @ScienceMagazine Since our preprint, we now demonstrate low-N eningeering of both antibody and enzymes. We hope this model will broadly useful to the protein engineering field.

Microbial bioelectronic sensors offer rapid and cost-effective chemical monitoring by generating electrical signals, but deploying them in the field remains challenging. A Review in @natrevbioeng proposes solutions. 🔒 https://t.co/jEixxoV97M

Microbial bioelectronic sensors for environmental monitoring https://t.co/Ew75UafqPk

Microbial bioelectronic sensors can monitor chemical pollution in the environment. In their new Review, Caroline Ajo-Franklin et al discuss how these sensors can be engineered to translate them from the lab to the field @RiceUniversity https://t.co/eAiZ43sM98

This work wouldn't be possible without the collaborative effort between the @AjoFranklinLab Lab and @RafRice Lab. Many thanks to the co-authors Xinyuan Zuo and Matt Carpenter, and a shout-out to supportive editor @ChristineHorejs! 11/11

Microbial bioelectronic sensor is a young field with challenges & opportunities. Future directions could enhance sensor specificity, longevity, biocontainment, and device miniaturization. Fostering interdisciplinary collaboration will be crucial to move the field forward. 10/11

Lastly, all components must be integrated into a device for field use. Lab-tested sensor ≠ application. Device fabrication is often neglected because of the lack of expertise in biology labs. Device architecture can be carefully designed for use in varied environments. 9/11

Engineered microbes can escape into the environment or be attenuated by environmental factors. Encapsulation of sensors onto the electrode can prevent signal loss and biocontamination. This can be achieved by bulk hydrogel or thin-film coating. 8/11

Third, equally important to chassis engineering is to establish a robust cell-electrode interface. Electrode property can substantially affect electron transfer and can be enhanced by morphological (2D > 3D) or surface (nanoparticles or redox materials) modifications. 7/11

Selecting a proper engineering strategy can be critical for microbial bioelectronic sensor performance. Often, sensor modularity or specificity can be compromised in order to achieve a faster response time, and vice versa. 6/11

Synthetic biology aids in developing specific sensors by controlling electroactive compounds (e- transfer genes, protein e- carries, redox enzymes) via transcriptional or post-translational (protein switch) regulation. This strategy is powerful but limited by genetic tools. 5/11

Second, how to transform a chassis into a bioelectronic sensor that can sense & respond? Conventional approaches modulate primary metabolism to enhance or diminish electrical current, leading to BOD or toxin sensors. While this strategy is simple, sensing is unspecific. 4/11

First, a chassis is selected. Microbes can generate e- signals in many ways, including EET, e- scavenging from metabolism, synthesizing redox molecules and altering media electrochemistry. An ideal chassis is native to the target environment with defined e- transfer pathways.3/11