Derek Greenfield

Synthetic biology arose from the desire to build biologically-based integrated systems to solve specific problems. We are interested in harnessing the cellular machinery of bacteria to perform molecular tasks that would be inefficient or impossible using non-biological devices. For example, bacteria have evolved mechanisms to move toward chemical attractants, precipitate heavy metals from solution, store energy from incident light, and break down toxic compounds, all in a volume of 1 um³. We are building upon these skills to develop a modular, programmable device to address problems in disease treatment and bioremediation.

• Winkleman A, Gudiksen KL, Ryan D, Whitesides GM, Greenfield D, Prentiss M. A magnetic trap for living cells suspended in a paramagnetic buffer. App. Phy. Lett. 2004, 85 (12): 2411-13
• Danilowicz C, Greenfield D, Prentiss M. Dissociation of Ligand-Receptor Complexes Using Magnetic Tweezers. Anal. Chem. 2005, 77 (10), 3023-3028.
• Walter JM, Greenfield D, Bustamante C, Liphardt J. Light-powering Escherichia coli with proteorhodopsin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2007, 104 (7) 2408-12.
• Greenfield D*, McEvoy AL*, Shroff H, Crooks GE, Wingreen NS, Betzig E, Liphardt J. Self-Organization of the Escherichia coli Chemotaxis Network Imaged with Super-Resolution Light Microscopy. PLoS Biol. 2009, 7 (6).