Droplet-Templated Synthetic Cells

Shang, Luoran; Zhao, Yuanjin

doi:10.1016/j.matt.2020.10.003

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 172 publications

(203 reference statements)

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“…In a typical experiment, the Janus structural color particles were made by droplet templates containing silica nanoparticles and GO sheets generated from a microfluidic chip [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. Pt and Fe 3 O 4 NPs were immobilized on the GO sheets by simple adsorption, as shown in Figure S1 and Table S1.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responsive Janus Structural Color Hydrogel Micromotors for Label-Free Multiplex Assays

et al. 2021

Self Cite

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Micromotors with self-propelling ability demonstrate great values in highly sensitive analysis. Developing novel micromotors to achieve label-free multiplex assay is particularly intriguing in terms of detection efficiency. Herein, structural color micromotors (SCMs) were developed and employed for this purpose. The SCMs were derived from phase separation of droplet templates and exhibited a Janus structure with two distinct sections, including one with structural colors and the other providing catalytic self-propelling functions. Besides, the SCMs were functionalized with ion-responsive aptamers, through which the interaction between the ions and aptamers resulted in the shift of the intrinsic color of the SCMs. It was demonstrated that the SCMs could realize multiplex label-free detection of ions based on their optical coding capacity and responsive behaviors. Moreover, the detection sensitivity was greatly improved benefiting from the autonomous motion of the SCMs which enhanced the ion-aptamer interactions. We anticipate that the SCMs can significantly promote the development of multiplex assay and biomedical fields.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responsive Janus Structural Color Hydrogel Micromotors for Label-Free Multiplex Assays

et al. 2021

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“…[117,134,143] Coacervates are suggested as precursors to membranous vesicles with various levels of hierarchical complexity. [144][145][146] For example, Tang et al proposed the spontaneous self-assembly of a continuous fatty-acid membrane at the surface of preformed coacervate microdroplets. [147] Martin and Douliez reviewed fatty acid vesicles and coacervates, and emphasized that coacervates can reversibly transform into fatty acid vesicles due to changes in pH, suggesting to consider this phenomenon as a new direction to explore the origins of life.…”

Section: Coacervatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coacervates are suggested as precursors to membranous vesicles with various levels of hierarchical complexity. [ 144–146 ] For example, Tang et al. proposed the spontaneous self‐assembly of a continuous fatty‐acid membrane at the surface of preformed coacervate microdroplets.…”

Section: Model Protocell Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protocells: Milestones and Recent Advances

Gözen

Köksal

Põldsalu

et al. 2022

Small

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to assemble astonishing pieces of a complicated puzzle, and realized that further advancement requires input from multiple branches of science, not just biology as the primary life science. Detailed hypotheses have been established about the different scenarios of the emergence of life, including the "RNA world," [1] the "lipid world," [2] "replicator first," [3] "metabolism first," [4][5][6] and others. Although the origin of life is still surrounded by many open questions, our understanding of chemical, physicochemical, and biochemical processes possibly involved in the ancient events preceding Darwinian evolution has seen much progress. We have come a long way from Leduc's physicochemical, inorganic matter-centered view on the beginning of the evolution, yet the matter of the transition from nonliving to living matter still remains largely unsolved, and one of the great scientific problems of our time.The phylogenetic tree of different living domains reflects that life has evolved from simple to more complex structures, i.e., from single-to multicellular organisms. The oldest fossil evidence dating back 3.5 Gy (billion years) comes from stromatolites, [7][8][9][10] microorganismal residues in sedimentary rocks. [11] There appears to be a gap of knowledge regarding the period of evolution between the first primitive hypothetical cells and the fossilized ancient bacteria, which can be considered as an already advanced form of life. [12] It is highly likely that intermediate primitive cell precursors preceded the single-cell organisms. The hypothetical prebiotic structures that were the stepping stone to first self-sustaining living cells are commonly termed "protocells." The possibility of a strong link between the formation of protocells and the origin of life can today be reasonably assumed.One cannot easily proceed in the context of the evolution of cell-based organisms without briefly illuminating the concept of life as we know it on our planet. Over time, different requirements have been proposed for an entity to be considered alive. According to Tibor Ganti's chemoton model, [13] a protocell contains three autocatalytic subsystems: a membrane subsystem that keeps the components together and intact, a metabolic subsystem that captures energy and material resources, and an information subsystem that processes and transfers heritable information to progeny. To be considered alive, these subsystems must be unified and function co-operatively for the survival and evolution of the supersystem. Pohorille and Deamer suggested a modified set of 7 criteria related to the chemoton. [14] At about the same time, Oro defined the requirements by 10 characteristic features. [15] Despite their differences, these descriptions align well with NASA's broader definition of life: "a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution."The origin of life is still one of humankind's great mysteries. At the transition between nonliving and living matter, protocells, initially featureless aggregates of abiotic matter, ga...

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“…Cell-free protein synthesis is a rapid and high-throughput expression technology of target proteins. The exogenous DNA or mRNA is used as a template to achieve in vitro protein synthesis by supplementing substrates and energy substances [75][76][77][78]. This tech- TPX2 is an important protein in microtubule nucleation in spindles [73].…”

Section: Crowding Effect On Gene Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress on Crowding Effect in Cell-like Structures

Zhang

Dong

et al. 2022

Membranes

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Several biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides, occupy about 30% of the space in cells, resulting in a crowded macromolecule environment. The crowding effect within cells exerts an impact on the functions of biological components, the assembly behavior of biomacromolecules, and the thermodynamics and kinetics of metabolic reactions. Cell-like structures provide confined and independent compartments for studying the working mechanisms of cells, which can be used to study the physiological functions arising from the crowding effect of macromolecules in cells. This article mainly summarizes the progress of research on the macromolecular crowding effects in cell-like structures. It includes the effects of this crowding on actin assembly behavior, tubulin aggregation behavior, and gene expression. The challenges and future trends in this field are presented at the end of the paper.

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Droplet-Templated Synthetic Cells

Cited by 35 publications

References 172 publications

Responsive Janus Structural Color Hydrogel Micromotors for Label-Free Multiplex Assays

Responsive Janus Structural Color Hydrogel Micromotors for Label-Free Multiplex Assays

Protocells: Milestones and Recent Advances

Progress on Crowding Effect in Cell-like Structures

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