Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Rep Prog Phys. 2018 Mar;81(3):032602. doi: 10.1088/1361-6633/aa9966.
Remote control over fusion of single cells and vesicles has a great potential in biological and chemical research allowing both transfer of genetic material between cells and transfer of molecular content between vesicles. Membrane fusion is a critical process in biology that facilitates molecular transport and mixing of cellular cytoplasms with potential formation of hybrid cells. Cells precisely regulate internal membrane fusions with the aid of specialized fusion complexes that physically provide the energy necessary for mediating fusion. Physical factors like membrane curvature, tension and temperature, affect biological membrane fusion by lowering the associated energy barrier. This has inspired the development of physical approaches to harness the fusion process at a single cell level by using remotely controlled electromagnetic fields to trigger membrane fusion. Here, we critically review various approaches, based on lasers or electric pulses, to control fusion between individual cells or between individual lipid vesicles and discuss their potential and limitations for present and future applications within biochemistry, biology and soft matter.
远程控制单细胞和囊泡的融合在生物和化学研究中有很大的潜力，可以在细胞之间传递遗传物质，也可以在囊泡之间传递分子内容。膜融合是生物学中的一个关键过程，它促进了分子的运输和细胞细胞质的混合，并有形成杂交细胞的潜力。细胞在专门的融合复合物的帮助下精确地调节内部膜融合，这些复合物从物理上提供了介导融合所需的能量。像膜曲率、张力和温度这样的物理因素通过降低相关的能量障碍来影响生物膜融合。这启发了人们开发物理方法来利用远程控制的电磁场在单细胞水平上控制融合过程，从而触发膜融合。在这里，我们批判性地回顾了基于激光或电脉冲的各种方法，用于控制单个细胞之间或单个脂质囊泡之间的融合，并讨论了它们在生物化学、生物学和软物质领域的当前和未来应用中的潜力和局限性。
