Self-division is one of the most common phenomena in living systems and one of the most important properties of life driven by internal mechanisms of cells. Design and engineering of synthetic cells from abiotic components can recreate a life-like function thus contributing to the understanding of the origin of life. Existing methods to induce the self-division of vesicles require external and non-autonomous triggers (temperature change and the addition of membrane precursors). Here we show that pHresponsive giant unilamellar vesicles on the micrometer scale can undergo self-division triggered by an internal autonomous chemical stimulus driven by an enzymatic (urea-urease) reaction coupled to a cross-membrane transport of the substrate, urea. The bilayer of the artificial cells is composed of a mixture of phospholipids (POPC, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine) and oleic acid molecules. The enzymatic reaction increases the pH in the lumen of the vesicles, which concomitantly changes the protonation state of the oleic acid in the inner leaflet of the bilayer causing the removal of the membrane building blocks into the lumen of the vesicles thus decreasing the inner membrane area with respect to the outer one. This process coupled to the osmotic stress (responsible for the volume loss of the vesicles) leads to the division of a mother vesicle into two smaller daughter vesicles. These two processes must act in synergy; none of them alone can induce the division. Overall, our self-dividing system represents a step forward in the design and engineering of a complex autonomous model of synthetic cells. † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Description of the chemical model for the conned urea-urease enzymatic reaction. Descriptions of molecular dynamics simulations and lm balance experiments. Description of videos (Videos S1-S3). Supporting Tables S1, S2 and Fig. S1-S8. See

Material design using nonequilibrium systems provides straightforward access to complexity levels that are possible through dynamic processes. Pattern formation through nonequilibrium processes and reaction–diffusion can be used to achieve this goal. Liesegang patterns (LPs) are a kind of periodic precipitation patterns formed through reaction–diffusion. So far, it has been shown that the periodic band structure of LPs and the geometry of the pattern can be controlled by experimental conditions and external fields (e.g., electrical or magnetic). However, there are no examples of these systems being used to retrieve information about the changes in the environment as they form, and there are no studies making use of these patterns for complex material preparation. This work shows the formation of LPs by a diffusion–precipitation reaction in a stretchable hydrogel and the control of the obtained patterns by the unprecedented and uncommon method of mechanical input. Additionally, how to use this protocol and how deviations from “LP behavior” of the patterns can be used to “write and store” information about the time, duration, extent, and direction of gel deformation are presented. Finally, an example of using complex patterning to deposit polypyrrole by using precipitation patterns is shown as a template.

Coupling of a pH clock reaction (activation) with lactone hydrolysis (deactivation) can control and drive the self-assembly of pH-responsive building blocks.

Shape transformation and self-division of phospholipid/fatty acid giant hybrid vesicles can be induced by an internal chemical stimulus (pH change) when coupled with an osmotic shock. In particular, an autocatalytic...

In the more than 100 years since the Liesegang phenomenon was discovered, intensive studies have been conducted to understand and control the characteristics of the periodic precipitation patterns in which the outer electrolyte diffuses into a hydrogel containing the inner electrolyte. Between fields of physics and chemistry, the periodicity of the precipitate has been investigated restrictively by spatial analyses and numerical simulations at macroscopic scales and it has been considered as a result of simple precipitation. In this work, calcium ion diffusion into gelatin hydrogels containing phosphate ions, a biomimetic system for bone formation, resulted in typical Liesegang patterns at macroscopic scales, but the asymmetric growth of the crystal was found in every single band at microscopic scales, which has not been observed or overlooked in the previous reports. The pattern consists of three characteristic bands: a continuous band, a split-fin band, and an intact-fin band. While the continuous band has a uniform crystal density, the split-fin and intact-fin bands have asymmetric crystal densities along the single band. We investigate the formation process of individual bands as well as the whole pattern by combining microscopic and spatiotemporal analyses based on the nucleation theory. Formation processes of asymmetric bands are explained by the unique stability and the diffusive property of amorphous precursors depending on the rate of calcium ion delivery. This is the first study to focus on the inhomogeneity of a single band in Liesegang patterns and the time-dependent mechanism of its growth.

Formation of spatially periodic patterns is a ubiquitous process in nature and man-made systems. Periodic precipitation is the oldest type of pattern formation, in which the formed colloid particles are self-assembled into a sequence of spatially separated precipitation zones in solid hydrogels. Chemical systems exhibiting periodic precipitation mostly comprise oppositely charged inorganic ions. Here, we present a new sub-group of this phenomenon driven by the diffusion and reaction of several transition metal cations (Zn 2+ , Co 2+ , Cd 2+ , Cu 2+ , Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Ni 2+ ) with an organic linker (2-methylimidazole) producing periodic precipitation of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks. In some cases, the formed crystals reached the size of ∼50 μm showing that a gel matrix can provide optimal conditions for nucleation and crystal growth. We investigated the effect of the gel concentration and solvent composition on the morphology of the pattern. To support the experimental observations, we developed a reaction−diffusion model, which qualitatively describes the spatially periodic pattern formation.

Field-assisted self-assembly, motion, and manipulation of droplets have gained much attention in the past decades. We exhibit an electric field manipulation of the motion of a liquid metal (mercury) droplet submerged in a conductive liquid medium (a solution of sulfuric acid). A mercury droplet moves toward the cathode and its path selection is always given by the steepest descent of the local electric field potential. Utilizing this unique behavior, we present several examples of droplet motions, including maze solving, electro-levitation, and motion on a diverted path between parallel electrodes by controlling the conductivity of the medium. We also present an experimental demonstration of Fermat's principle in a non-optical system, namely a mercury droplet moving along a refracted path between electrodes in a domain having two different conductivities.

Oppositely charged nanoparticles precipitate rapidly only at the point of electroneutrality, wherein their charges are macroscopically compensated. We investigated the aggregation and precipitation of oppositely charged nanoparticles at concentrations ranging from 10 to 10−3 mm (based on gold atoms) by using UV/Vis measurements. We employed solutions of equally sized (4.6 nm) gold nanoparticles, which were functionalized and stabilized with either positively or with negatively charged alkanethiols. Results showed that oppositely charged nanoparticles do not precipitate if their concentration is below a certain threshold even if the electroneutrality condition is fulfilled. This finding suggests a universal behavior of chemical systems comprising oppositely charged building blocks such as ions and charged nanoparticles.