Droplet networks containing engineered protein pores Event

Professor Hagan Bayley, Department of Chemistry at University of Oxford

Professor Bayley works at the interface of chemistry and biology through developing techniques for protein modification that have applications in both basic science and biotechnology.

Synthetic biology is being used to build devices through both top-down and bottom-up approaches. For example, genome engineering has been used to reprogram cells, and DNA origami has been used to produce a variety of nanodevices. While progress has been made on the assembly of minimal cells, synthetic tissues have so far received limited attention. Here, assemblies of aqueous droplets joined by lipid bilayers are described. The droplets can communicate with each other and with the environment through engineered protein pores and, like tissues, exhibit emergent properties.

Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford