New artificial cells mimic nature's tiny reactors
Artificial cells that mimic their natural counterparts help scientists learn the secrets of complex processes, such as how plant cells turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into fuel. Today’s artificial cells often become unstable when materials transit the membrane. Scientists have developed a new artificial cell where lipid vesicles (small pools of fatty molecules) self-assemble around treated water droplets. The result is an artificial cell or microscopic bioreactor.
On the lDaniel C. Dewey, Christopher A. Strulson, David N. Cacace, Philip C. Bevilacqua, Christine D. Keating. Bioreactor droplets from liposome-stabilized all-aqueous emulsions. Nature Communications, 2014; 5: 4670 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5670
eft: Fluorescent microscope image shows artificial bioreactors composed of sugar-based dextran polymer solution (blue) encapsulated within a shell of lipid vesicles (red). On the right: schematic illustration of what the vesicles look like at the aqueous/aqueous interface. Blue and yellow shading indicate the interior and exterior solutions. Credit: Christine Keating
