Light-harvesting bacteria infused with nanoparticles can produce electricity in a ’living photovoltaic’. Credit: Giulia Fattorini
Light-harvesting bacteria infused with nanoparticles can produce electricity in a 'living photovoltaic'. Credit: Giulia Fattorini - Scientists at EPFL have gotten bacteria to spontaneously take up fluorescent carbon nanotubes for the first time. The breakthrough unlocks new biotechnology applications for prokaryotes, such as near-infrared bacteria tracking and "living photovoltaics" - devices that generate energy using light-harvesting bacteria. "We put nanotubes inside of bacteria," says Professor Ardemis Boghossian at EPFL's School of Basic Sciences. "That doesn't sound very exciting on the surface, but it's actually a big deal. Researchers have been putting nanotubes in mammalian cells that use mechanisms like endocytosis, that are specific to those kinds of cells. Bacteria, on the other hand, don't have these mechanisms and face additional challenges in getting particles through their tough exterior.
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