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Active Extensile Hydrogels Actuated by Living Polymers of the Bacterial Cytokinetic Protein FtsZ
Mikheil Kharbedia, Diego Herr\'aez-Aguilar, Macarena Calero, Horacio L\'opez-Men\'endez, Clara Luque-Rioja, Lara H. Moleiro, Cruz Santos, Pilar Lillo, Francisco Monroy
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.04431

Active Extensile Hydrogels Actuated by Living Polymers of the Bacterial Cytokinetic Protein FtsZ
Active materials capable of autonomously modulating their mechanical properties are foundational to the development of next-generation soft technologies. Here, we introduce a novel class of extensible biohybrid hydrogels powered by living polymers of the bacterial cytokinetic protein FtsZ. When embedded within a polyacrylamide (PA) matrix, GTP-fueled FtsZ filaments self-organize into treadmilling structures that generate internal extensible stresses, driving reversible softening, swelling, and …