Liu Yi-Nan 刘轶男

Liu Yi-Nan 刘轶男

Postdoctoral fellow engaged in research on microbial analytical chemistry and microbial biotechnology
致力于微生物分析与微生物技术开发的博士后研究员

🔬 My Research Interests

My research lies at the intersection of environmental microbiology, bioelectrochemistry, and microbial biotechnology, focusing on microbial processes at interfaces and their applications in environmental sustainability.

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(1) Microbial extracellular electron transfer – investigated the mechanisms of electron exchange in electrochemically active bacteria using electrochemical, molecular, and imaging approaches.

(2) Microbe–material interactions – developed plasmonic imaging techniques to visualize bacterial interfacial adhesion at the single-cell level.

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(3) Microbial plastic degradation – explored the potential of microbial communities and enzymes to break down synthetic polymers, supported by metagenomics and bioinformatics analyses.

(4) Synthetic biology and microbial engineering – integrating microbiology with materials science to construct functional bacteria–material hybrid systems for environmental and energy applications.

Achievements

To date, I have published 16 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as PNAS, ACS Nano, Nano Letters, Environmental Science & Technology, and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. My work has been recognized with the Chinese Academy of Sciences Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award and the Presidential Scholarship, and has been featured in international media including China Science Daily, The Straits Times, CNA, and The Manila Times.

🔬 个人研究兴趣

我重点关注微生物在界面上的作用机制及其在环境可持续发展中的应用，主要的研究兴趣包括：

（1）微生物胞外电子传递 : 通过电化学、分子生物学和成像技术，揭示电活性细菌的电子交换机制。

（2）微生物–材料相互作用 ：开发单细菌分析技术，实现单细胞水平上细菌界面黏附过程的可视化。

（3）微生物塑料降解 : 解析微生物群落及关键酶在合成高分子降解中的作用，并结合宏基因组学与生物信息学进行研究。

（4）合成生物学与微生物工程 ： 融合微生物学与材料科学，设计用于环境与能源应用的功能性细菌–材料杂合体系。

研究成果： 截至目前，我已在 PNAS, ACS Nano, Nano Letters, Environmental Science & Technology, 和 Applied Environmental Microbiology 等期刊发表论文 16 篇。曾获中国科学院优秀博士学位论文奖和中国科学院院长优秀奖，研究成果被中国科学报、海峡时报、亚洲新闻台和马尼拉时报等国际媒体报道。

🔥 News

  • 2025.09:  🎉🎉Dr. Liu Yi-Nan presented a poster at the Singapore-China Joint Symposium on AI & Sustainability.

📝 Publications

PNAS 2020
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  • Liu, Y.-N.; Lv, Z. T.; Lv, W. L.; Liu, X.W., Plasmonic Probing of the Adhesion Strength of Single Microbial Cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2020, 117 (44), 27148-27153.
ME 2025
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  • Liu, Y.-N.; Liu, Z.; Liu, J.; Hu, Y.; Cao, B., Unlocking the Potential of Shewanella in Metabolic Engineering: Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities. Metab. Eng. 2025, 89, 1-11.
ACS Nano 2024
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  • Liu, Y.-N.; Liu, X.-W., Nanoscale Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Microbial Adhesion: Unveiling Stepwise Transitions with Plasmonic Imaging. ACS Nano 2024, 18 (24), 16002-16010.
EI 2024
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  • Liu, Y. -N.# ; Bairoliya, S.# ; Zaiden, N.; Cao, B., Establishment of Plastic-associated Microbial Community from Superworm Gut Microbiome. Environ. Int. 2024, 108349. (#共同第一作者)
Nano Lett. 2023
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  • Liu, Y. -N.#; Lv, Z.-T.#; Lv, W.-L.; Liu, D.-F.; Liu, X.-W., Label-Free Optical Imaging of the Electron Transfer in Single Live Microbial Cells. Nano Lett. 2023, 23 (2), 558-566. (#共同第一作者)

  • Liu, Y. -N.; Deng, S.; Bairoliya, S.; Cao, B. Mining Microbial Resources from Water. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2023, 191, 106883.

  • Liu, Y. -N.; Min, Y.; Chen, J.-J.; Zhang, F.; Liu, D.-F.; Liu, X.-W.; Tian, T.; Yu, H.-Q., C-Type Cytochromes Facilitated Cd(II) Complexation by an Electrochemically Active Bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. ACS ES&T Water 2022, 2 (10), 1697-1706

  • Liu, Y. -N.#; Lv, Z. T.#; Yang, S. Y.; Liu, X. W., Optical Tracking Interfacial Dynamics of Single SARS-CoV-2 Pseudoviruses. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55 (7), 4115-4122. (#共同第一作者)

  • Liu, Y.-N.; Liu, X.-W., Chapter Four-Single-cell plasmonic imaging for activity analysis. In Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry, Chen, Y.-P.; Ma, T.-F., Eds. Elsevier: 2021; Vol. 95, pp 107-143

  • Liu, Y. -N.; Chen, H. B.; Liu, X. W., Rapid Assessment of Water Toxicity by Plasmonic Nanomechanical Sensing. Anal. Chem. 2020, 92 (1), 1309-1315.

  • Liu, Y. -N.#; Zhang, F.#; Li, J.; Li, D. B.; Liu, D. F; Li, W. W.; Yu, H. Q., Exclusive Extracellular Bioreduction of Methyl Orange by Azo Reductase-Free Geobacter sulfurreducens. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, 51 (15), 8616-8623. (#共同第一作者)

  • Li, N.#; Liu, Y. -N.#; An, J.; Feng, C.; Wang, X., Bifunctional Quaternary Ammonium Compounds to Inhibit Biofilm Growth and Enhance Performance for Activated Carbon Air-cathode in Microbial Fuel Cells. J. Power Sources 2014, 272, 895-899. (#共同第一作者)

  • Song, W.; Liu, Y.; Wu, Y.; Wang, C.; Liu, Z.; Liu, Y.-N.; Zhang, X.; Cao, L.; Li, B.; Song, B., Single-Atom Bridges across Biotic-Abiotic Interfaces Facilitate Direct Electron Transfer for Solar-to-Chemical Conversion. Nat. Commun. 2025, 16 (1), 6708

  • Lv, Z. T.; Qian, C.; Liu, Y. -N.; Lv, Y. H.; Liu, X.-W., Optical Tracking of Surfactant-Tuned Bacterial Adhesion: a Single-Cell Imaging Study. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2022, 88 (23), e01626-22.

  • Jiang, D., Zhao, X., Liu, Y. -N., Chen, H. B., Lv, W. L., Qian, C., Liu, X. W., Label-free Probing of Molecule Binding Kinetics Using Single-particle Interferometric Imaging. Anal. Chem. 2021, 93 (22), 7965-7969.

  • Chen, H. B.; Jiang, D.; Liu, Y. -N.; Qian, C.; Zhou, X.-L.; Liu, X.-W., Probing the Deposition Kinetics of Nanoparticles by Plasmonic Imaging and Counting Single Nanoparticles. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2020, 7 (5), 298-302.

  • Feng, C.; Liu, Y. -N.; Li, Q.; Che, Y.; Li, N.; Wang, X., Quaternary Ammonium Compound in Anolyte without Functionalization Accelerates the Startup of Bioelectrochemical Systems Using Real Wastewater. Electrochim. Acta 2016, 188, 801-808.

🎖 Honors and Awards

  • 2022 Chinese Academy of Sciences Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award
  • 2021 Chinese Academy of Sciences Presidential Scholarship
  • 2021 Tang Xiaoyan Environmental Innovation Scholarship (First Prize)
  • 2021 ORGANO Water & Environment Scholarship (Second Prize)
  • 2020 National Scholarship for Doctoral Students
  • 2018 The First Prize in Haichuan Young Scholars Symposium of Ocean University of China

📖 Educations

  • 2011/09-2015/07 Nankai University, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering
  • 2015/09-2021/07 University of Science and Technology of China, Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Doctor of Engineering

💬 Presentation and Talks

  • IWA Biofilm 2022: Processes in Biofilms, Dec, 2022, Phuket, Thailand

    [Talk] Liu, Y. N. Establishment of Plastic-associated Microbial Community from Superworm Gut Microbiome

  • Forum on Environment, Sustainability and Transformation, Sep, 2023, University of Galway, Ireland (Online)

    [Talk] Liu, Y. N. Microscopic Analyses on Interactions of Microbial Interface

  • Haichuan Young Scholars Symposium, Oct, 2018, Qingdao, Shandong, China

    [Talk] Liu, Y. N. Rapid Assessment of Water Toxicity by Plasmonic Nanomechanical Sensing

  • Symposium on The Biofilm Matrix: Fundamental Understanding and Translational Impact, 6-8 Mar, 2024, Singapore

    [Poster] Establishment of Plastic-associated Microbial Community from Superworm Gut Microbiome

  • Singapore-China Joint Symposium on AI & Sustainability, 28-30 Sep, 2025, Singapore

    [Poster] Unveiling plastic-degrading microbial resources from worm gut through enrichment and systems-level analyses