How to Make a Synthetic Cell
“In our lab, we [researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany] build these synthetic cells using a droplet-based microfluidics approach, where we generate a water droplet that is surrounded by an oil phase. On the inside of the droplet are small lipid vesicles that chemically bind to the inner surface of the droplet and create a lipid bilayer. Then, we release these droplets out of the oil phase into an aqueous environment, like a biological buffer. We end up with giant unilamellar [i.e. a single layer] vesicles (GUVs) that mimic the lipid bilayer of natural cells. We’re able to add complexity to these GUVs by, for example, decorating the surface with different types of proteins, so that we have control over how these synthetic cells behave in different types of culture environments.” MORE
Image Credit: cell.com