Bioelectronics communication: encoding yeast regulatory responses using nanostructured gallium nitride thin films

Baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae, is a model organism that is used in synthetic biology. The work demonstrates how GaN nanostructured thin films can encode physiological responses in S. cerevisiae yeast. The Ga-polar, n-type, GaN thin films are characterized via Photocurrent Measurements, Atomic Force Microscopy and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy. UV light is used to induce persistent photoconductivity that results in charge accumulation on the surface. The morphological, chemical and electronic properties of the nanostructured films are utilized to activate the cell wall integrity pathway and alter the amount of chitin produced by the yeast. The encoded cell responses are induced by the semiconductor interfacial properties associated with nanoscale topography and the accumulation of charge on the surface that promotes the build-up of oxygen species and in turn cause a hyperoxia related change in the yeast. The thin films can also alter the membrane voltage of yeast. The observed modulation of the membrane voltage of the yeast exposed to different GaN samples supports the notion that the semiconductor material can cause cell polarization. The results thus define a strategy for bioelectronics communication where the roughness, surface chemistry and charge of the wide band gap semiconductor's thin film surface initiate the encoding of the yeast response.