Miaomiao Zhang

Rapid and reliable communication with photosynthetic organisms is essential for monitoring their physiological states, which would reflect their endogenous bioelectric signals. However, these signals are inherently weak and challenging to detect due to the low efficiency of bioelectronic generation and transmission. In this work, we constructed a Syne/PFP/PPy biohybrid system by integrating the photosynthetic cyanobacterial cells of Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 (Syne) with cationic poly(fluorene-co-phenylene) derivative (PFP) and polypyrrole (PPy). Leveraging the superior light-harvesting ability of PFP and the excellent electrical conducting properties of PPy, the Syne/PFP/PPy system can enhance the acquisition of in situ bioelectronic signals from Syne. Compared to single Syne cells, the intensity of bioelectronic signals collected by Syne/PFP/PPy increased over 14 times (from 3.4 to 47.9 nA cm^-2). By incorporating machine learning models, we successfully correlated these bioelectronic signals with key physiological conditions, including variations in temperature, light intensity, pH, and nutrient availability (nitrogen and phosphorus). Furthermore, a wireless device was also designed for a simulation application of this system to realize wireless monitoring of Syne cells. This strategy offers a promising platform for decoding intrinsic bioelectronic signals of photosynthetic organisms and providing an efficient method for timely tracking their life status.

Living plants provide sustainable and adaptive systems, and enabling them with in vivo electroactivity could open promising avenues for green sensing and energy technologies. However, integrating conductive polymers into living tissues without harming the viability remains challenging. Here, we develop a living rose-based biohybrid system using an enzyme-assisted in vivo polymerization strategy to endow plants with electroactive functions. In the system, pyrrole monomers are transported throughout the plant and polymerized in situ on tissue surfaces, producing electroactive Rose/PPy stems that combine the properties of conductive polymers with living tissues. The system enables sensitive detection of plant hormones, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA, 1.5 μM-100 μM) and salicylic acid (SA, 0.05 μM-3 μM), via differential pulse voltammetry. Rose/PPy also functions as a supercapacitor electrode, exhibiting a maximum capacitance of 1035 μF at 3 μA with 81% retention over 10,000 cycles, and a symmetric two-electrode device shows 49.7 μF at 3.5 μA with 85% retention over 5500 cycles. These results demonstrate the potential of Rose/PPy for both biosensing and energy storage. This work establishes a general strategy for constructing electroactive plant-based biohybrids, expands the applications of natural biomass in multifunctional materials, and provides insights into the seamless integration of electronics with living systems.

Exploring precise temperature-based photosynthesis regulation strategies will afford promising opportunities for controllable and efficient enhancement of photosynthesis. In this work, we developed a type of photothermal conjugated polymer nanoparticles (T-NPs) based on TZQ-TDPP (poly[2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-(6,7-bis(4-((2-decyltetradecyl)oxy)phenyl) -[1,2,5] thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline)]). T-NPs possess the desired photothermal conversion performance, with their photothermal conversion efficiency reaching up to 80.52%. The introduction of T-NPs enables the controllable regulation of the microenvironment temperature of Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyre), thereby achieving accurate regulation on its photosynthetic activity. Under optimal conditions, T-NPs accelerate light-dependent reactions, leading to increased oxygen evolution and NADP⁺, NADPH, and ATP contents up to 46%, 20%, 23%, and 103%, respectively. Moreover, the Rubisco activity of C. pyre under light-independent reactions increased by 258%. The chlorophyll fluorimeter parameters and chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics curves also exhibited varying degrees of increase, demonstrating that the introduction of T-NPs improves the photosystem II (PSII)-related process and enhances the photosynthesis process of C. pyre. Integrated proteomic profiling revealed the regulatory mechanism of T-NPs on the photosynthesis of C. pyre and confirmed the upregulation of the Rubisco activity in C. pyre. This study provides a strategy for precise regulation of photosynthesis through photothermal-responsive conjugated polymer nanoparticles, advancing the development of photosynthetic organism-based sustainable energy and biomanufacturing.

Corrigendum: Calcium and phosphorus co-doped carbon dots enhance osteogenic differentiation for calvarial defect repair in situ (2022 Biomed. Mater. 17 055007), Wu, Lin, Wu, Yunchao, Liu, Jingjin, Liu, Suwan, Li, Qianzhe, Yang, Mengyu, Ji, Qing, Zhang, Miaomiao, Zhang, Feimin, Du, Fengyi