Magnetic bacteria, non-therapeutic and therapeutic uses thereof

Abstract

Recombinant, alive and metabolically active bacteria including a heterologous prokaryotic biomineralized ferritin. In particular, the inventors have shown that naturally non-magnetic Escherichia coli may be engineered to become magnetic by the expression and the biomineralization of the ferritin of Pyrococcus furiosus. Moreover, the inventors have shown that a fixed number of magnetic E. coli strains keep their magnetic properties through cell division by asymmetrical division. The inventors have also shown that magnetic bacteria according to the invention may be of use in both non-therapeutic and therapeutic uses, such as, e.g., the biosensing of target substance, the depollution of complex environments, the display of antibodies, nanobodies and antigens, the delivery of therapeutic substance to target cells, the targeting and infection of target cells.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.