Living wearables: Bacterial reactive glove. (August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chiolerio, Alessandro; Dehshibi, Mohammad Mahdi; Manfredi, Diego; Adamatzky, Andrew
• Is Part Of: Bio systems. Volume 218(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Subjects: Bacterial skin -- Living pressure sensor -- Bioelectricity -- Bacterial glove -- Spiking -- Kolmogorov complexity; Biological systems -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; Biologie -- Périodiques; Évolution -- Périodiques; 570
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2022.104691
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0303-2647

Abstract

Abstract: A reactive bacterial glove is a cotton glove colonised by Acetobacter aceti, an example of biofabrication of a living electronic sensing device. The bacterial colony, supported by a cellulose-based hydrogel, forms a several millimetres-thick living coating on the surface of the glove. This paper proposes a novel method for analysing the complex electrical activity of trains of spikes generated by a living colony. The proposed method, which primarily focuses on dynamic entropy analysis, shows that the bacterial glove responds to mechanical triaxial stimuli by producing travelling patterns of electrical activity. Kolmogorov complexity further supports our investigation into the evolution of dynamic patterns of such waves in the hydrogel and shows how stimuli initiate electrical activity waves across the glove. These waves are diffractive and ultimately are suppressed by depression. Our experiments demonstrate that living substrates could be used to enable reactive sensing wearable by means of living colonies of bacteria, once the paradigm of excitation wave propagation and reflection is implemented.