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Bacteria-instructed synthesis of polymers for self-selective microbial binding and labelling

Magennis, E. Peter; Fernandez-Trillo, Francisco; Sui, Cheng; Spain, Sebastian G.; Bradshaw, David; Churchley, David; Mantovani, Giuseppe; Winzer, Klaus; Alexander, Cameron

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Authors

E. Peter Magennis

Francisco Fernandez-Trillo

Cheng Sui

Sebastian G. Spain

David Bradshaw

David Churchley



Abstract

The detection and inactivation of pathogenic strains of bacteria continues to be an important therapeutic goal. Hence, there is a need for materials that can bind selectively to specific microorganisms for diagnostic or anti-infective applications, but that can be formed from simple and inexpensive building blocks. Here, we exploit bacterial redox systems to induce a copper-mediated radical polymerization of synthetic monomers at cell surfaces, generating polymers in situ that bind strongly to the microorganisms that produced them. This 'bacteria-instructed synthesis' can be carried out with a variety of microbial strains, and we show that the polymers produced are self-selective binding agents for the 'instructing' cell types. We further expand on the bacterial redox chemistries to 'click' fluorescent reporters onto polymers directly at the surfaces of a range of clinical isolate strains, allowing rapid, facile and simultaneous binding and visualization of pathogens. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Citation

Magennis, E. P., Fernandez-Trillo, F., Sui, C., Spain, S. G., Bradshaw, D., Churchley, D., Mantovani, G., Winzer, K., & Alexander, C. (2014). Bacteria-instructed synthesis of polymers for self-selective microbial binding and labelling. Nature Materials, 13(7), 748-755. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3949

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 18, 2014
Online Publication Date May 11, 2014
Publication Date 2014-07
Deposit Date Jun 12, 2015
Publicly Available Date Jun 12, 2015
Journal Nature Materials
Print ISSN 1476-1122
Electronic ISSN 1476-4660
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 13
Issue 7
Pages 748-755
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3949
Keywords Mechanical Engineering; General Materials Science; Mechanics of Materials; General Chemistry; Condensed Matter Physics
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/995360
Publisher URL http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v13/n7/full/nmat3949.html
Additional Information Received: 2 March 2013; Accepted: 18 March 2014; First Online: 11 May 2014; Change Date: 7 January 2016; Change Type: Correction; Change Details: In the version of this Article originally published, the fluorescence micrograph in Fig. 3b, the second panel on the lower row erroneously showed a micrograph that corresponded to Escherichia coli instead of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This error has been corrected in the online versions of the Article.; : The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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