Cell-Directed Assembly of Lipid-Silica Nanostructures Providing Extended Cell Viability
Helen K. Baca,1
Carlee Ashley,1
Eric Carnes,1
Deanna Lopez,1
Jeb Flemming,2
Darren Dunphy,2
Seema Singh,2
Zhu Chen,1
Nanguo Liu,3
Hongyou Fan,2
Gabriel P. López,1
Susan M. Brozik,2
Margaret Werner-Washburne,4
C. Jeffrey Brinker1,2,5*
Amphiphilic phospholipids were used to direct the formation of biocompatible, uniform silica nanostructures in the presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and bacterial cell lines. The cell surfaces organize multilayered phospholipid vesicles that interface coherently with the silica host and help relieve drying stresses that develop with conventional templates. These host structures maintain cell accessibility, addressability, and viability in the absence of buffer or an external fluidic architecture. The cell surfaces are accessible and can be used to localize added proteins, plasmids, and nanocrystals. Prolonged cell viability combined with reporter protein expression enabled stand-alone cell-based sensing.
1 Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA.
2 Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA.
3 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chemistry Division, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
4 Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
5 Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cjbrink{at}sandia.gov
