title: Multi-compartment encapsulation of communicating droplets and droplet networks in hydrogel as a model for artificial cells.
abstract: Constructing a cell mimic is a major challenge posed by synthetic biologists. Efforts to this end have been primarily focused on lipid- and polymer-encapsulated containers, liposomes and polymersomes, respectively. Here, we introduce a multi-compartment, nested system comprising aqueous droplets stabilized in an oil/lipid mixture, all encapsulated in hydrogel. Functional capabilities (electrical and chemical communication) were imparted by protein nanopores spanning the lipid bilayer formed at the interface of the encapsulated aqueous droplets and the encasing hydrogel. Crucially, the compartmentalization enabled the formation of two adjoining lipid bilayers in a controlled manner, a requirement for the realization of a functional protocell or prototissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200G, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bayoumi
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Research Laboratory, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hagan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bayley
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200G, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.|Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K Tanuj
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Sapra
mesh_terms: D058045:Artificial Cells; D020100:Hydrogels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D066292:Lipid Droplets; D058608:Nanopores; D011506:Proteins; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D011506:Proteins; D014867:Water