Dictyostelium discoideum
- Čejková J. (2013), Dictyostelium discoideum – model system not only for biologists, Chemické listy 107, 563-600.
- Čejková J., Ševčíková H., Krausová L., Přibyl M., Štěpánek F., Marek M. (2010) A new traveling wave pattern of Dictyostelium in the presence of cAMP in the agar. Physica D 239, 879-888.
- Hilgardt C., Čejková J., Hauser M. J. B., Ševčíková H. (2008), Streamless aggregation of Dictyostelium in the presence of isopropylidenadenosin. Biophysical Chemistry 132, 9-17.
Dictyostelium discoideum is a microorganism that under normal conditions consists of independent single amoebas and under unfavourable conditions, these cells become “social” and enter a multicellular developmental program. After the initiation of starvation, pioneer cells release pulses of cyclic adenosine-3‘,5‘-monophosphate (cAMP). Nearby cells sense this compound and start to move chemotactically in the direction where the cAMP concentration rises most rapidly. By using chemotaxis, cells aggregate into multicellular object enabling them to survive unfavourable conditions.
Dictyostelium life cycle
Pattern formation in Dictyostelium
Temperature-sensitive PNIPAM microcapsules
- Čejková J., Hanuš J., Štěpánek F. (2010), Investigation of internal microstructure and thermo-responsive properties of composite PNIPAM/silica microcapsules. J. Coll. Interf. Sci. 346, 352-360.
Biologicaly triggered release
- Čejková J., Haufová P., Gorný D., Hanuš J., Štěpánek F. (2013), Biologically triggered liberation of sub-micron particles from alginate microcapsules, J. Mater. Chem. B 1, 5456-5461.
- Čejková J., Haufová P., Gorný D., Štěpánek F.: “Artificial spores” – hybrid alginate microcapsules with encapsulated yeast cells, ECAL 2013 (12th European Conference on Artificial Life), Taormina, Italy, 2.-6.9.2013.
A new method for triggering the burst liberation of encapsulated sub-micron particles from carrier particles using embedded microorganisms has been developed. Triggering mechanisms such as those based on chemical, light, thermal, or magnetic stimuli are known, but man-made particles are not yet able to replicate the concept of “dormancy” found in biological systems in the form of spores or seeds that survive in an inactive state and start to grow only once favourable environmental conditions are encountered. An engineered particle system that mimics this property by embedding viable yeast cells into synthetically made alginate microcapsules is reported in the present work. Cell growth and division is used as a triggering mechanism for stimuli-responsive release of the encapsulated content. The hybrid living/artificial capsules were formed by an inkjet printing process and the mechanism of biologically triggered release was shown using fluorescently labelled liposomes.
