Gel System Turns Bacteria Into Bioelectric Sensors

Researchers develop a hydrogel that traps bacteria and enhances their ability to generate electrical signals in response to target substances.

Mar. 14, 2026 at 7:26am

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Researchers at Rice University have developed a bioelectronic sensor system that uses a hydrogel to trap living bacteria and enhance their ability to generate electrical signals in response to the presence of target substances. The hydrogel, made from the biopolymer chitosan, provides a flexible way to encapsulate the bacteria and improve electron transport between the bacteria and an electrode. This allows the bacteria to effectively communicate electrically, enabling the development of living bioelectronic devices for sensing, chemical production, or isolation and destruction of harmful chemicals.

Why it matters

Microbial bioelectronic sensors offer advantages over other biosensors, as the bacteria can perform multiple functions, survive in various environments, and even grow and regenerate for potential long-term use. However, building effective devices using living bacteria has posed challenges, such as mediators being swept away in liquid environments or being toxic. This new hydrogel-based system addresses these issues, providing a way to harness the capabilities of electroactive bacteria for real-world applications.

The details

The key innovation in this system is the use of a chitosan-based hydrogel that traps the bacteria near the electrode while still allowing the target substances to flow in and around the bacteria. The hydrogel also incorporates a redox-active polymer that acts as an anchor point for electron-transporting mediators, enabling effective communication between the bacteria and the electrode. The researchers demonstrated this system by using an engineered version of the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum to detect the presence of the antimicrobial preservative sakacin P in milk.

  • The study was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials.

The players

Rafael Verduzco

The A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University and the corresponding author on the paper.

Xinyuan Zuo

A doctoral student at Rice University and the first author on the paper.

Lactobacillus plantarum

A probiotic bacteria commonly found in fermented dairy foods, which was engineered to produce an electrical signal in response to the presence of the antimicrobial preservative sakacin P.

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What they’re saying

“This system uses a naturally occurring polymer chitosan, which is found in the hard outer shells of crustaceans. In our system, the chitosan also acts kind of like a shell to keep the bacteria from escaping. It is also modified to have anchor points the mediators can attach to, which are critical to transport electrons.”

— Rafael Verduzco, Corresponding author and A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Mirage News)

“We realized we could solve both of those problems by using a redox-active polymer, which would allow us to effectively capture the electrical signal from the bacteria and pass it along to the electrode.”

— Xinyuan Zuo, First author and doctoral student (Mirage News)

What’s next

The researchers plan to further develop this hydrogel-based system to explore a wider range of potential applications, including sensing, chemical production, and the isolation or destruction of harmful chemicals.

The takeaway

This new bioelectronic sensor system demonstrates how harnessing the capabilities of living bacteria can enable the development of flexible, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly devices for a variety of real-world applications.