Data from: Catalytic materials enabled by a programmable assembly of synthetic polymers and bacterial spores

Natural biological materials are formed by self-assembly processes and
catalyze a myriad of reactions. Here, we report a programmable molecular
assembly of designed synthetic polymers with engineered Bacillus subtilis
spores. The bacterial spore-based materials possess modular mechanical and
functional properties derived from the independent design and assembly of
synthetic polymers and engineered spores .  We discovered that
phenylboronic acid (PBA) derivatives form tunable and reversible dynamic
covalent bonds with the spore surface glycan. Spore labeling was performed
using fluorescent PBA probes and monitored by fluorescence microscopy and
spectroscopy. Binding affinities of PBA derivatives to spore surface
glycan was controlled by aryl substituent effects. On the basis of this
finding, PBA-functionalized statistical copolymers were synthesized and
assembled with B. subtilis spores to afford macroscopic materials that
exhibited programmable stiffness, self-healing, prolonged dry storage, and
recyclability. These material properties could be examined using shear
rheology, tensile testing, and NMR experiments.  Integration of
engineered spores with surface enzymes yielded reusable biocatalytic
materials with exceptional operational simplicity and high benchtop
stability. The reaction progress of the biocatalyses could be monitored
with fluorescence specroscopy and absorption measurements, while spore
leakage could be monitored by changes in solution turbidity (OD600). The
use of bacterial spores as an active partner in dynamic covalent
crosslinking sets our material apart from previous examples and grants
control over biocontainment as well as the subsequent fate of the spores
through stimuli-responsive reversal of the crosslink.