Entrapment of Living Bacterial Cells in Low-Concentration Silica Materials Preserves Cell Division and Promoter Regulation

The entrapment of bacterial cells within inorganic silica materials was reported almost 20 years ago. However, almost all studies to date have shown that these entrapped cells are unable to divide and thus should be expected to have reduced promoter activity. In view of the importance of bacteria as model systems for both fundamental and applied biological studies, it is crucial that immobilized cells retain solutionlike properties, including …