Materials Synthetic Biology

We develop and apply stimulus-responsive and information-processing biohybrid polymer materials. To this aim, we functionally couple synthetic biological molecular sensors and switches to polymer materials. By wiring these switches according to topologies inspired by electronic circuits, we engineer materials that perform fundamental computational operations. Examples of our work include:

• We engineered a hydrogel based on a bacteria-derived photoreceptor which allows the light-responsive, fully reversibly tuning of its mechanical properties. We applied this hydrogel as extracellular matrix to analyze the impact of dynamic mechanical environments on transcriptome-wide responses in mesenchymal stem cells or on the migration of T-lymphocytes.
  See Hörner et al. Advanced Materials 2019
  
• We integrated synthetic biological switches with polymer materials into a circuit inspired by an electronic counter. The resulting material system was able to count the number of input light pulses and to release different output as a function of the number of light pulses detected. We applied this system to sequentially release different biocatalysts to drive a two-step biochemical reaction.
  See Beyer et al., Advanced Materials 2018
  
• We developed PenTag, a protein tag for the spontaneous, covalent coupling of proteins to ampicillin-functionalized molecules such as dyes, polymers, or solid supports. Based on this strategy, we engineered and assembled material modules to function as encoder for processing different combinations of biochemical input stimuli.
  See Mohsenin et al., Advanced Functional Materials 2024
  
• By engineering modular protease-based switches that can either be activated or repressed, we develop information-processing biohybrid circuits that process binary biomolecular information according to a circuit inspired by electronic decoders. Such circuits can be applied to process and interpret biochemical sensor information for advanced diagnostic applications.
  See Mohsenin et al., Advanced Materials 2024

We perform collaborative research in materials-oriented synthetic biology within interdisciplinary research consortia

STEADY

Within the ERC Advanced Grant STEADY, we develop concepts for dynamically controlling the properties of engineered living materials by advanced synthetic genetic circuits.

LoopOfFun

We coordinate the European Innovation Council (EIC)-funded consortium LoopOfFun in which we aim at developing a platform for the rapid development of industry-scale, one-step, simple casting-based manufacturing processes for fungal mycelia composites. We jointly work towards this goal with our consortium partners:

• Prof. Roman Jerala, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Dr. Achim Weber, Fraunhofer IGB, Stuttgart, Germany
• Prof. Arnold Driessen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
• Carlotta Borgato and Jan Boelen, Atelier LUMA, Arles, France

DELIVER

In the project DELIVER funded by the Carl-Zeiss-Foundation, we collaborate towards the data-driven engineering of sustainable living materials. We combine synthetic biology with materials sciences and data-driven approaches to design bio-based composite materials with custom-tailored structural properties for construction applications. Within deliver, we collaborate with the following partners:

• Prof. Thomas Speck, University of Freiburg, Germany
• Dr. Clemens Kreutz, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany

BILLARD

We coordinate the BILLARD project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the funding line “Biologization of Technology”, we collaborate with PD Dr. Felicitas Bucher from the Clinic of Ophtamology at the University Hospital Freiburg on the development of novel intraocular drug delivery devices.

CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies

We are member of the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS in which we perform research on novel optogenetic technologies to control signaling reactions in mammalian cells. We mainly collaborate with Prof. Dr. Jens Timmer on the model-based design of synthetic biological switches and networks and with Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel on controlling immunological processes such as T cell activation via optogenetics.