{
  "abstract": "Whole-cell biosensors can detect many types of chemicals in complex environments, but existing designs force a tradeoff in multiplexed sensing: separating sensor strains into individual reservoirs limits how many analytes can be monitored at once, while pooling strains in open co-culture lets faster-growing strains take over within days, corrupting the signal. The microfluidic \"mother machine\" has been used for over a decade, mostly to study individual bacterial strains with single-cell resolution, but never to house multiple engineered strains simultaneously for sensing applications. We repurpose this device to hold a library of genetically distinct biosensor strains, physically isolating each strain in its own growth channel while continuous flow keeps every strain fed. Each strain reports on a target chemical through a unique combination of three fluorescent proteins, so seven distinguishable signals emerge from only three optical channels. We characterized turn-on and turn-off kinetics of several biosensors in the mother machine. Over a multi-day experiment with repeated chemical exposures, biosensors housed this way matched the expected on/off state and held stable population ratios, while biosensors in an open batch co-culture drifted and lost reliable signal. This establishes mother-machine-based multiplexing as a scalable route to long-term chemical monitoring with living sensors.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Tufts University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "H. X. Tu"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Vanaei"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Balasubramanian"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Mundada"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Deshpande"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Kulkarni"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. Sahoo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "N. Joshi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6x52xmpz6ftws.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.25.753839",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.753839v1.full",
  "id": "6x52xmpz6ftws",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.753839v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "bioengineering"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|bioluminescence and chemiluminescence research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214583727",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.753839v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-25",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6x52xmpz6ftws.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:24:50Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.25.753839",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.753839v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:bioengineering",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Biosynthetic Olfactory System from Multiplexed Engineered Microbes (BOSMEM)",
  "title_text": "Biosynthetic Olfactory System from Multiplexed Engineered Microbes (BOSMEM)",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:24:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6x52xmpz6ftws",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}