Allen Matthew E, Hindley James W, Law Robert V, Ces Oscar, Elani Yuval
Department of Chemistry Imperial College London Molecular Sciences Research Hub, 82 Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK.
Institute of Chemical Biology Imperial College London Molecular Sciences Research Hub, 82 Wood Lane London W12 0BZ UK.
Small Sci. 2025 Feb 6;5(4):2400320. doi: 10.1002/smsc.202400320. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Artificial cells serve as promising micro-robotic platforms that replicate cellular features. One ubiquitous characteristic of living cells is compartmentalization of content in distinct and well-defined locations. Herein, a microfluidic strategy to mimic compartmentalization is developed through the production of micron-scale two and three compartment biomimetic microgels, where hydrogel compartment number, composition, size, and shape can be controlled. Our lab-on-chip system enables the incorporation of various synthetic organelles into spatially separated compartments within the microgels. This design concept allows for the introduction of a variety of individually triggered bioinspired behaviors, including protein capture, enzyme-mediated content release, and stimuli-triggered motility, each isolated in a distinct compartment enabling the use of the microgels as compartmentalized artificial cells. With this approach, the division of content and function seen in biological cells can be mirrored, which will underpin the generation of increasingly sophisticated and functional soft matter microdevices using bottom-up synthetic biology principles.
人工细胞是很有前景的可复制细胞特征的微机器人平台。活细胞一个普遍存在的特征是将内容物分隔在不同且明确界定的位置。在此，通过生产微米级的双隔室和三隔室仿生微凝胶，开发出一种模拟分隔的微流控策略，其中水凝胶隔室的数量、组成、大小和形状均可控制。我们的芯片实验室系统能够将各种合成细胞器纳入微凝胶内空间分离的隔室中。这种设计理念允许引入各种单独触发的受生物启发的行为，包括蛋白质捕获、酶介导的内容物释放和刺激触发的运动性，每种行为都隔离在一个独特的隔室中，从而能够将微凝胶用作分隔的人工细胞。通过这种方法，可以反映生物细胞中所见的内容物和功能的划分，这将为利用自下而上的合成生物学原理生成日益复杂和功能强大的软物质微器件奠定基础。
