Bottom-up chemical construction of photosynthetic cyanobacteria mimics and their controlled assembly into autonomous and self-regulating biofilm-like materials for hydrogen production

Información del proyecto

PROTO-BACT

Identificador del acuerdo de subvención: 101107715

DOI

10.3030/101107715

Proyecto finalizado el 30 Noviembre 2024

Fecha de la firma de la CE 26 Julio 2023

Fecha de inicio 1 Octubre 2023

Fecha de finalización 30 Septiembre 2025

Financiado con arreglo a

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Coste total

Sin datos

Aportación de la UE

€ 172 750,08

Coordinado por

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TRIESTE
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PROTO-BACT (Bottom-up chemical construction of photosynthetic cyanobacteria mimics and their controlled assembly into autonomous and self-regulating biofilm-like materials for hydrogen production)

Período documentado: 2023-10-01 hasta 2025-09-30

Resumen del contexto y de los objetivos generales del proyecto

This project dealt with the bottom-up synthetic construction of proto-cyanobacteria capable of both H2 production and negative phototaxis, by combining in a synergistic manner inorganic chemistry and supramolecular chemistry. The result was a protocellular material comprising: (i) a membrane composed of a mixture of polymers and a photoactive perovskite oxide, (ii) a coacervate sub-shell and (iii) an aqueous lumen. Irradiation of these proto-cyanobacteria using blue light (405 nm) caused the excitation of the La0.85Fe0.9Cu0.1O3-Pt perovskite and enabled overall water splitting and the subsequent production of H2 and O2. The evolution of gases from the membrane caused the movement of the proto-cyanobacteria away from the light source, thereby endowing our protocell with negative phototaxis capabilities. Overall, this project contributed to closing the gap between living and non-living entities, and moved forward the boundary of how synthetic materials can be designed to behave like living entities.

Trabajo realizado desde el comienzo del proyecto hasta el final del período abarcado por el informe y los principales resultados hasta la fecha

During this project several actions were undertaken in order to fill the gap between living and non-living matter, approached via a combination of bottom-up synthetic biology, supramolecular chemistry, inorganic chemistry and photochemistry. The work was articulated into 6 different work packages comprising the synthesis and characterization of a photoactive perovskite oxide, their self-assembly into a protocellular material and the testing of their photocatalytic activity towards water splitting, i.e. the production of H2 and O2 from water. The main achievements of this project consisted in the design of an unprecedented protocellular material based on polymers and an inorganic semiconductor that showed directional motility upon irradiation, due to the nucleation of micrometer-sized gas bubbles. This project offered such a fundamentally relevant result that should push the applications of bottom-up synthetic biology.

Avances que van más allá del estado de la técnica e impacto potencial esperado (incluida la repercusión socioeconómica y las implicaciones sociales más amplias del proyecto hasta la fecha)

The results of this project are beyond the sate of the art, because the bottom-up preparation of proto-cyanobacteria mimics using a combination of organic and inorganic materials, and allowing the photochemical production of H2 is unprecedented. Moreover, the ability of such protocell models to escape from a light source as a result of gas-driven motility showed a higher-order and life-like behavior that closes the gap between living and non-living matter.