Biology for Materials - Materials for Biology... combining materials with genetically encoded functions

In recent years, the progress in fabricating composite materials based on molecular self-assembly has been tremendous. A broad variety of assembling techniques have been introduced, many of which enable the design of units with sophisticated functions, most often accomplished by utilizing functional biopolymers derived from biological systems. While embedding biological building blocks into materials is popular, linking them with their encoding genetic sequences (thus embedding an evolutionary unit) has so far received little attention although such assemblies potentially provide new ways for materials optimization based on evolutionary strategies rather than rational design.
In this talk I will show examples on how such materials can be made and applied based on assembling interfaces with virus nanoparticles as functional units, and emulsions, double emulsions and derivative ‘Gel-Shell Beads‘ that harbor a genotype/phenotype linkage in their interior volumes.

References:
Viruses as Building Blocks for Materials and Devices
Fischlechner, M.; Donath, E.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 46 (2007) 3184-3193.

Evolution of Catalysts Caged in Biomimetic Gel-Shell Beads
Fischlechner, M.; Schaerli, Y.; Patil, S.; Mohamed, M.; Abell, C.; Hollfelder, F.
Nature Chemistry (2014), 791-796.