Western Kentucky University
Department of Physics and Astronomy

Colloquium

Dr. James Boedicker

Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Southern California

"Bacterial-mediated synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials"

February 23, 2026 @ 4:00 pm in KTH 2038 (Zoom ID: 93595838321)

About the Speaker

James Boedicker is a Professor of Physics and Biology at the University of Southern California. His research group uses synthetic biology and biophysical tools and models to understand the interactions between bacterial cells and the collective behavior of bacterial populations, with the overall goal of engineering bacteria for applications and controlling natural populations of cells. Prior work has focused on signal exchange within bacterial communities, transcriptional regulation, cell pattern formation, dynamics of gene exchange, and engineering cells for material synthesis.

Abstract

Cells have been used for the synthesis of a variety of molecules and materials. Some cells have synthetic capabilities we do not typically associate with living systems, such as the ability to do carry out reactions with metals. Critical metabolic reactions require metals, and cells also need to mitigate toxic effects of some metals. Therefore, specific pathways have evolved to handle a variety of metal ions. Repurposing these natural pathways using synthetic biology has led to the application of cells for synthesis of metal and semiconductor nanomaterials, such as gold nanoparticles and quantum dots. A systematic and model-guided exploration of the design space of biogenic inorganic nanomaterials would help to improve schemes for biogenic synthesis of such materials. For material synthesis inside of cells, it is key to create a suitable chemical environment with sufficient ion concentrations for nucleation and growth of particles. In the bacteria Escherichia coli, multiple transport proteins and redox enzymes impact the oxidation state and internal concentration of metal ions such as manganese, cadmium, and zinc. Through a combination of experimental measurements and theoretical modeling, we have identified how different combinations of these proteins influence particle synthesis. Bacterial cells were then engineered for nanoparticles inside of living cells, using biological parameters to tune the production and properties of the synthesized nanoparticles.