Exploring Microbial Collective Dynamics Using Bioprinting and Biomaterials Approaches

Microbes live in complex environments, like the soil beneath our feet, and the tissues in our body, and exhibit vast diversity in dynamics and behavior. The field of studying microbial dynamics in environments that mimic their natural habitats is continually growing, and we have lots to uncover about microenvironmental impact on microbial collective behavior. For decades, biomaterials and tissue engineers have been engineering hydrogel biomaterials with tunable properties to study mammalian cell behavior in biomedically relevant environments. Recently, bioprinting has further advanced the complexity of in vitro 3D models for tissue engineering.



Here, we ask, what can we uncover by applying hydrogel biomaterials engineering and bioprinting to microbial collective research? We engineer microporous, chemically modified biopolymer hydrogels with tunable porosity and stiffness over biologically relevant scales. Using bioprinting approaches, we design complex pathways for investigating E. coli collective migration and growth in real time using time lapse imaging. Complementing this work with a theoretical understanding, we aim to create platform biomaterials and bioprinting systems to design complex microenvironments for microbial collective dynamics research.