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Light-eating cyborg bacteria

26.08.2017

Scientists from the University of California at Berkeley, USA, have created bacteria that feed on light and contain semiconductor nanocrystals. Cyborg microbes can synthesize various organic compounds, doing it more efficiently than in the process of photosynthesis.

The non-photosynthetic bacteria Moorella thermoacetica, which produce acetic acid from carbon dioxide during respiration, were used in the experiment. The scientists added cadmium and the amino acid cysteine, which contains a sulfur atom, to the nutrient medium on which the microorganisms grew. As a result, cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were formed, functioning as microscopic solar cells.

The hybrid microorganism, designated by the researchers as M.thermoacetica-CdS, is able to synthesize acetic acid from carbon dioxide, water and solar energy. Bacteria can be made to produce nutrients, fuels and plastics using genetic modification, scientists say. At the same time, this technology will be waste-free.

The quantum efficiency of ordinary photosynthesis reaches 30 percent, since it takes only 114 kilocalories (kcal) to assimilate one mole of carbon dioxide, although in reality this consumes an amount of photons containing 381 kcal. In cyborg bacteria, this figure is increased to 80 percent.

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Fluorescent sensors will indicate organic water contaminants 03.10.2016

A research team at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has developed fluorescent sensors capable of detecting a range of organic pollutants in water.

Current methods used to detect volatile organic compounds in water, such as xylenes, are time consuming and require sophisticated equipment. A new technique based on fluorescent nanosheets could change that. The new sensors rely on hydrophilic cyclodextrin molecules attached to fluorescent tetraphenylethene groups. When added to an aqueous solution, these structures self-assemble into nanoscopic multilayer sheets about 4 nm thick. Two layers of cyclodextrin surround the tetraphenylethene filling.

Although the outer layer of circular cyclodextrin molecules is hydrophilic, they have hydrophobic interior cavities. These cavities collect and direct volatile organic molecules to the tetraphenylethene layer. After contaminants hit the compound, fluorescence occurs. Experts in the field say the Chinese team's work provides a very good example of the application of solid-state fluorescence in the development of advanced optical sensors.

The fluorescent nanosheets are extremely sensitive to aromatic xylenes, with a detection limit of 5 µg/L, the inventors say. Sensitivity may be a result of the size of the hydrocarbons. Other pollutants such as hexane, acetone, and methanol are also detected by the sensors, but are not as effective as xylenes.

Researchers continue to develop detectors for various pollutants.

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