Living systems transfer information through molecules and ions. The internet transfers information through electrons and photons. While each communication system is elegant and effective, the two have typically remained worlds apart: Scientists have struggled to find ways to connect the systems effectively—or even translate between them.

Still, the possibilities of the so-called “Internet of Life” are tantalizing, says William “Bill” Bentley, the Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Chair of Engineering and director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute and Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices.

“If we could transfer information from one system to another, you could imagine all sorts of new technologies and processes,” says Bentley, who is also a member of the UMD Center of Excellence in Microbiome Sciences.

One dream scenario? A device connected to the human body to sense disease progression and administer drugs as needed.

This future may be closer than ever. Work by Bentley and his colleagues, including longtime collaborator Greg Payne, a research professor and Fischell Institute Fellow in UMD’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, and recent alums Sally Wang Ph.D. ’23 and Chen-Yu Chen Ph.D. ’23, has uncovered a bridge in the communication gap between biological and electronic systems.

Bentley and his lab have created hydrogels developed from a substance known as chitin that can facilitate information transfer between microelectronics and biological systems. Then they developed a cutting-edge bioelectronic device, dubbed BioSpark, that receives and digitizes biological signals and returns electronic commands back. The team has even demonstrated how they could electronically control gene expression in bacteria.

Their work could lead to biosensors that monitor, in real-time, our microbiome health or oxidative damage in blood serum linked to health conditions such as schizophrenia—or even take corrective action. “When you open up communication between biology and electronics, it’s a completely new way of getting information,” Bentley says.

—Story by Erin Peterson, Engineering at Maryland magazine

Photograph by Maximilian Franz