Melanin-based light-recording bioink/biomaterial Designing a MelC2-Based Cell-Free Module for Programmable Melanin Bioink
Reframing pigmentation from static dyeing to a programmable chemical state evolution, enabling materials that encode environmental history
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Resource Link Final presentation slides CL Final Project Slide Deck Final pTwist_MelC2_T7_TXTL_6xHis construct Benchling Twist Order for my Final Project: MelC2_T7_TXTL_6xHis_expression_cassette Benchling and Twist (Nodes) Document Cell-free master mix plan - 8 planned reactions My Week 11 HW Documentation SECTION 1 - ABSTRACT Melanin is a chemically heterogeneous dark biopolymer known for broadband UV-visible optical absorption, photoprotective behavior, photothermal conversion, redox activity, and long-term optical stability. These properties make melanin a compelling biological route to functional color: a pigment chemistry that can absorb and dissipate radiation, preserve optical traces, buffer oxidative stress, and interface with biological or electronic systems. This project proposes controlling melanin-forming chemistry in a synthetic biology system to develop a programmable bioink for engineered biomaterials. The broader vision is to create materials that combine biosensing and functional response: recording environmental inputs such as light, ionizing radiation, or oxidative stress through measurable optical change, while also enabling properties such as UV or radiation protection, photothermal conversion, antioxidant behavior, and bioelectronic interfacing. Depending on concentration, matrix composition, and material format, this melanin-based bioink could be explored for responsive textiles, UV-protective coatings, architectural and design surfaces, tattoo-like dermal pigments, space-oriented materials, bioelectronic interfaces, and localized radioprotective biomaterials. To move toward this goal, this project aims to design a first genetic module that generates measurable melanin-like optical changes in a controlled cell-free system, then use it as a foundation for future integration into engineered biomaterials such as bacterial cellulose. The central hypothesis is that a codon-optimized Streptomyces antibioticus MelC2 tyrosinase construct can provide a tractable route toward cell-free melanin-like pigment formation, with output shaped by tyrosinase activity, substrate availability, copper cofactor loading, oxygen, pH, redox state, and polymerization chemistry. During HTGAA 2026, I designed a MelC2 expression cassette for TX-TL / E. coli use and designed a validation workflow.