Dresden 2020 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 38: Focus: Biological Cells in Microfluidics II
BP 38.7: Talk
Friday, March 20, 2020, 11:45–12:00, HÜL 386
Synthetic cells: De novo assembly with microfluidics and DNA nanotechnology — Yannik Dreher1,2, Julius Fichtler1,2, Kevin Jahnke1,2, and •Kerstin Göpfrich1,2 — 1Biophysical Engineering Group, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstraße 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany — 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Bottom-up synthetic biology has been successful at isolating components from cells and reconstituting subcellular functions in vitro. Progress towards a fully functional synthetic cell, however, requires strategies to recombine and arrange a multitude of components in space and time. Here, we merge two precision technologies, microfluidics and DNA nanotechnology, to position and manipulate various components in synthetic cells [K. Göpfrich et al., Trends Biotechnol., 2018; Jahnke et al., Adv. Funct. Mater., 2019]. After encapsulation, we actuate DNA nanostructures in microfluidic or lipid-based compartments [K. Göpfrich et al., ACS Synth. Biol., 2019] to assemble dynamic systems with structural reconfigurability. By the integration of plasmonic probes we achieve real-time optical feedback to monitor the dynamics upon external stimulation. Moreover, we demonstrate the division of lipid vesicles relying on physical mechanisms and show that it can be regulated by metabolic activity. These unique tools, bridging the micro- and nanoscale, enrich the complexity and diversity of functional synthetic cellular systems.