A Polymer Artificial Cell with Synthetic DNA

Plastic Cell
This is a must-read to believe: “The researchers used a water droplet as the structure upon which they built the polymer cell. To create the organelles, they produced tiny polystyrene-b-poly spheres filled with enzymes designed to undertake set chemical processes. These sub-micrometric nanoreactors were then encapsulated in a coating of a polymer called polybutadiene-b-poly polymersome using emulsion-centrifugation to form a cell wall.” The bottom line is that these researchers at Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands) have created a synthetic eukaryotic cell, with active organelles, which can carry out multiple chemical reactions. They foresee these structures being highly valuable for drug and chemical testing. MORE
Image Credit: Radbouds University