College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China.
College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
Adv Mater. 2020 Oct;32(43):e2002932. doi: 10.1002/adma.202002932. Epub 2020 Sep 21.
Synthetic cells have a major role in gaining insight into the complex biological processes of living cells; they also give rise to a range of emerging applications from gene delivery to enzymatic nanoreactors. Living cells rely on compartmentalization to orchestrate reaction networks for specialized and coordinated functions. Principally, the compartmentalization has been an essential engineering theme in constructing cell-mimicking systems. Here, efforts to engineer liquid-liquid interfaces of multiphase systems into membrane-bounded and membraneless compartments, which include lipid vesicles, polymer vesicles, colloidosomes, hybrids, and coacervate droplets, are summarized. Examples are provided of how these compartments are designed to imitate biological behaviors or machinery, including molecule trafficking, growth, fusion, energy conversion, intercellular communication, and adaptivity. Subsequently, the state-of-art applications of these cell-inspired synthetic compartments are discussed. Apart from being simplified and cell models for bridging the gap between nonliving matter and cellular life, synthetic compartments also are utilized as intracellular delivery vehicles for nuclei acids and nanoreactors for biochemical synthesis. Finally, key challenges and future directions for achieving the full potential of synthetic cells are highlighted.
合成细胞在深入了解活细胞的复杂生物过程方面发挥着重要作用；它们还产生了一系列新兴的应用，从基因传递到酶纳米反应器。活细胞依赖于区室化来协调用于专门和协调功能的反应网络。主要地，区室化一直是构建细胞模拟系统的一个重要工程主题。在这里，将多相系统的液-液界面工程化为具有膜的和无膜的区室，包括脂质体、聚合物体、胶体、杂种和凝聚体液滴，被总结。提供了这些区室如何被设计来模拟生物行为或机制的例子，包括分子运输、生长、融合、能量转换、细胞间通讯和适应性。随后，讨论了这些受细胞启发的合成区室的最新应用。除了作为简化的和细胞模型来弥合非生命物质和细胞生命之间的差距外，合成区室还被用作核酶的细胞内递药载体和生化合成的纳米反应器。最后，强调了实现合成细胞全部潜力的关键挑战和未来方向。
