Integrating living systems into biomanufacturing processes
Synthetic biology allows us to rapidly develop whole-cell biosensors (WCB) for metabolites and proteins that are critical to measure in biomanufacturing processes. However, successfully deploying these WCB for processing monitoring requires overcoming some practical challenges. Coexistence of different populations of cells and isolation of tasks between biosensing and producing cells can provide enhanced robustness and channels available resources into specialisation. In addition, the design-build-test-learn cycle in bacteria is rapid, meaning biosensors can be engineered quickly, but these cells grow quickly and can outcompete producing cells in mixed co-cultures. We have developed a materials science solution to help address this challenge, creating a system we call “living analytics in a multilayer polymer shell (LAMPS)”. LAMPS is an encapsulation method that facilitates the coculture of two cells with vastly different growth rates. Using the example of mammalian and bacterial co-culture, we show that LAMPS enable the formation of a synthetic bacterial-mammalian cell interaction. Our work serves as a proof-of-concept for further applications in bioprocessing since LAMPS combine the simplicity and flexibility of a bacterial biosensor with a viable method to prevent runaway growth that would disturb mammalian cell physiology.