title: Vesicles in Nature and the Laboratory: Elucidation of Their Biological Properties and Synthesis of Increasingly Complex Synthetic Vesicles.
abstract: The important role of vesicles in many aspects of cell function is well-recognized, but only recently have sophisticated imaging techniques begun to reveal their ubiquity in nature. While we further our understanding of the biological properties of vesicles and their physiological functions, increasingly elegant artificial vesicles are being developed for a wide range of technological applications and basic research. Herein, we examine the state of the art of biological and synthetic vesicles and place their biological features in the context of recent synthetic developments, thus providing a unique overview of these complex and rapidly developing fields. The challenges and opportunities associated with future biological and synthetic studies of vesicles are also presented.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6680-5683
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Trillo
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Liam M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stephenson-Brown
authors.affiliation: Institute of Inflammation and Ageing (IIA), University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6937-7293
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Mendes
mesh_terms: D000067128:Extracellular Vesicles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size
keywords: biological vesicles; compartmentalization; polymersomes; synthetic cells; synthetic vesicles