Material-engineered bioartificial microorganisms enabling efficient scavenging of waterborne viruses

Huixin Li; Yanpeng Xu; Yang Wang; Yihao Cui; Jiake Lin; Yuemin Zhou; Shuling Tang; Ying Zhang; Haibin Hao; Zihao Nie; Xiaoyu Wang; Ruikang Tang

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-40397-5

Material-engineered bioartificial microorganisms enabling efficient scavenging of waterborne viruses

Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 3;14(1):4658. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40397-5.

Authors

Huixin Li^{1

2

3

4}, Yanpeng Xu⁵, Yang Wang⁶, Yihao Cui¹, Jiake Lin¹, Yuemin Zhou¹, Shuling Tang¹, Ying Zhang^{1

2

3

4}, Haibin Hao^{1

2

3}, Zihao Nie^{2

3

4}, Xiaoyu Wang^{7

8

9}, Ruikang Tang^{10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Cardiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
³ Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Intervention and Regenerative Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Laboratory of Virology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Etiology of Viral Diseases in Children, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China.
⁶ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
⁷ Department of Cardiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. xy_wang@zju.edu.cn.
⁸ Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. xy_wang@zju.edu.cn.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Intervention and Regenerative Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. xy_wang@zju.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. rtang@zju.edu.cn.
¹¹ Department of Cardiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. rtang@zju.edu.cn.
¹² Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. rtang@zju.edu.cn.

Abstract

Material-based tactics have attracted extensive attention in driving the functional evolution of organisms. In aiming to design steerable bioartificial organisms to scavenge pathogenic waterborne viruses, we engineer Paramecium caudatum (Para), single-celled microorganisms, with a semiartificial and specific virus-scavenging organelle (VSO). Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles modified with a virus-capture antibody (MNPs@Ab) are integrated into the vacuoles of Para during feeding to produce VSOs, which persist inside Para without impairing their swimming ability. Compared with natural Para, which has no capture specificity and shows inefficient inactivation, the VSO-engineered Para (E-Para) specifically gathers waterborne viruses and confines them inside the VSOs, where the captured viruses are completely deactivated because the peroxidase-like nano-Fe₃O₄ produces virus-killing hydroxyl radicals (•OH) within acidic environment of VSO. After treatment, magnetized E-Para is readily recycled and reused, avoiding further contamination. Materials-based artificial organelles convert natural Para into a living virus scavenger, facilitating waterborne virus clearance without extra energy consumption.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral
Hydroxyl Radical
Peroxidase
Peroxidases
Viruses*

Substances

Hydroxyl Radical
Peroxidase
Peroxidases
Antibodies, Viral