Design and construction of artificial photoresponsive protocells capable of converting day light to chemical energy

Abstract

Design and construction of artificial photoresponsive protocells based on the encapsulation and activation of metallized peptide/porphyrin self-assembled nanofilaments within silica-nanoparticle-stabilized colloidosomes.

Photoresponsive Biomimetic Protocells for Near-Infrared-Light-Regulated Phototheranostics

“…12 Hierarchical assembly is thus the main strategy for the construction of an artificial photosynthetic system, 23,24 and researchers have fabricated numerous photosynthesis models for the conversion of light energy to chemical energy. [25][26][27][28][29][30] The photosynthetic substance could be assembled on a carrier that allows the harvested energy to be quickly and efficiently transferred to the photosynthetic reaction center. However, the conformation of light-harvesting molecules 10,31,32 and the stability of the photosynthetic reaction center 23,33,34 are influenced significantly by the surrounding environment.…”

“…As a next step, researchers have encapsulated the carriers into a more stable system, such as micelles, to form synthetic cell-like structures. 28,35 Although the structural and functional biomimetics have been challenging, incredible effort continues to be undertaken to construct assembly systems with structure and function that mimic photosynthetic bacteria due to the carryover of this research into bioelectronics, catalysis, and medicine.…”

Modulation of Higher‐order Behaviour in Model Protocell Communities by Artificial Phagocytosis

“…Thei norganic membrane was crosslinked to produce shell-like micro-compartments (colloidosomes) that could be transferred to water and endowed with biomimetic functions,s uch as in situ gene expression, [6] enzyme-mediated catalysis, [6,7] microcapsule growth and divi-sion, [8] membrane gating, [9] enzyme-directed secretion of an extracellular-like matrix, [10] and energy capture and conversion. [11] Thee mergence of collective behaviour in mixed populations of synthetic protocells is relatively unexplored, even though increasing levels of protocell interactivity could provide more complex and synergistic functions,s uch as resilience to environmental stress,c hemical signalling for artificial quorum sensing,a nd multiplex tasking via collaboration and specialization. Chemical communication and signalling have been demonstrated between populations of vesicles and bacteria, [12,13] lipid vesicles containing gene circuitry, [14] vesicles and proteinosomes, [15] colloidosomes, [16] modified [17] or immobilized [18] coacervate droplets,a nd in water-in-oil emulsion droplets.…”

Modulation of Higher‐order Behaviour in Model Protocell Communities by Artificial Phagocytosis

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Thee xternal membrane of these synthetic microcapsules can be tailored using aw ide range of building blocks,s uch as lipids,p olymers,p rotein-polymer conjugates, and inorganic nanoparticles,t omeet specific criteria. [11] Thee mergence of collective behaviour in mixed populations of synthetic protocells is relatively unexplored, even though increasing levels of protocell interactivity could provide more complex and synergistic functions,s uch as resilience to environmental stress,c hemical signalling for artificial quorum sensing,a nd multiplex tasking via collaboration and specialization. Thei norganic membrane was crosslinked to produce shell-like micro-compartments (colloidosomes) that could be transferred to water and endowed with biomimetic functions,s uch as in situ gene expression, [6] enzyme-mediated catalysis, [6,7] microcapsule growth and divi-sion, [8] membrane gating, [9] enzyme-directed secretion of an extracellular-like matrix, [10] and energy capture and conversion.…”

“…[2] For example,aprotocell model based on the spontaneous assembly of partially hydrophobic silica nanoparticles at the interface of water and oil to form water-in-oil Pickering emulsion droplets with amechanically robust membrane has been recently developed. [11] Thee mergence of collective behaviour in mixed populations of synthetic protocells is relatively unexplored, even though increasing levels of protocell interactivity could provide more complex and synergistic functions,s uch as resilience to environmental stress,c hemical signalling for artificial quorum sensing,a nd multiplex tasking via collaboration and specialization. [11] Thee mergence of collective behaviour in mixed populations of synthetic protocells is relatively unexplored, even though increasing levels of protocell interactivity could provide more complex and synergistic functions,s uch as resilience to environmental stress,c hemical signalling for artificial quorum sensing,a nd multiplex tasking via collaboration and specialization.…”