Issue 21, 2010

Achievements and open questions in the self-reproduction of vesicles and synthetic minimal cells

Abstract

Supramolecular chemistry was enriched, about twenty years ago, by the discovery of the self-reproduction of micelles and vesicles. The dynamic aspects and complexity of these systems makes them good models for biological compartments. For example, the self-reproduction of vesicles suggests that the growth in size and number of a vesicle population resembles the pattern of living cells in several aspects, but it take place solely due to physical forces. Several reports demonstrate that reverse micelles, micelles, sub-micrometric and giant vesicles can self-reproduce, generating new particles at the expenses of a suitable precursor. Recently, similar studies are in progress on more complex vesicle-based systems, namely semi–synthetic minimal cells. These are artificial cell–like compartments that are built by filling liposomes with the minimal number of biomolecules, such as DNA, ribosomes, enzymes, etc., in order to construct a living cell in the laboratory. This approach aims to investigate the minimal requirements for molecular systems in order to display some living properties, while it finds relevance in origins of life studies and in synthetic (constructive) biology.

Graphical abstract: Achievements and open questions in the self-reproduction of vesicles and synthetic minimal cells

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
14 Jul 2009
Accepted
02 Mar 2010
First published
30 Apr 2010

Chem. Commun., 2010,46, 3639-3653

Achievements and open questions in the self-reproduction of vesicles and synthetic minimal cells

P. Stano and P. L. Luisi, Chem. Commun., 2010, 46, 3639 DOI: 10.1039/B913997D

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