Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Jul 26;9(29):25023-25028. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b05800. Epub 2017 Jul 14.
Living cells exploit compartmentalization within organelles to spatially and temporally control reactions and pathways. Here, we use the all aqueous two phase system (ATPS) of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dextran to develop all water emulsion bodies, AWE-somes, a new class of encapsulated double emulsions as potential cell mimics. AWE-somes feature rigid polyelectrolyte (PE)/nanoparticle (NP) shells and double emulsion interiors. The shells form via complexation of PE and NP at interfaces of ATPS. The NPs, excluded from the drop phase, create an osmotic stress imbalance that removes water from the encapsulated phase and draws droplets of external PEG phase into the shells to form the double emulsion interior. We demonstrate that molecules can permeate the AWE-some shells, selectively partition into the internal droplets, and undergo reaction. AWE-somes have significant potential for creating functional, biocompatible protocell systems.
活细胞利用细胞器的区室化在空间和时间上控制反应和途径。在这里，我们使用聚乙二醇 (PEG) 和葡聚糖的全水双相系统 (ATPS) 开发全水乳液体 (AWE-somes)，这是一种新型的包封双乳液，可用作潜在的细胞模拟物。AWE-somes 的特点是刚性聚电解质 (PE)/纳米颗粒 (NP) 壳和双乳液内部。壳通过 ATPS 界面处的 PE 和 NP 的络合形成。由于 NPs 被排除在液滴相之外，因此会造成渗透压失衡，使包封相中的水分被除去，并将外部 PEG 相的液滴吸入壳中形成双乳液内部。我们证明分子可以穿透 AWE-some 壳，选择性地分配到内部液滴中，并发生反应。AWE-somes 在创建功能性、生物相容性原细胞系统方面具有重要的潜力。
