The Gobbo Group has created the first light-responsive artificial tissues-like materials, or photonastic prototissues, that can mimic natural energy transduction processes. Published in Advanced Materials, the work combines gold nanoparticle-based proto-organelles and a responsive polymer “proto-cortex” to build protocells that contract under visible light. These motions can reversibly control internal enzyme activity, offering a new way to engineer life-like behaviours. This advance marks a significant step towards advanced, energy-responsive prototissues in synthetic biology and bioinspired materials engineering.
A Photonastic Prototissue Capable of Photo-Mechano-Chemical Transduction
The Gobbo Group 