Harnessing the unique abilities of living cells can be beneficial in applications ranging from pharmaceutical to environmental science, but replicating complex processes like active transport using inorganic materials is a difficult task. Despite the challenges, researchers at New York University and the University of Chicago have managed to create a new fully-synthetic cell mimic that can ingest, capture and expel foreign particles through light-activated chemical reactions.
The cell mimic is made from a spherical polymer membrane containing a nanochannel to imitate a cell’s protein channel. By adding a photoswitchable catalyst inside the nanochannel, the researchers created a sort of chemical pump that causes the artificial cell to draw in particles when activated with light. When the light is turned off, the cell keeps the cargo trapped within the membrane, and when the chemical reaction is reversed, the cargo is expelled back through the nanochannel.
The researchers tested their cell mimic in different environments and found that it could ingest foreign particles and impurities in water, and also trap E. coli bacteria within its membrane. This suggests synthetic cells could one day be used to remove bacteria and microorganisms from water or other areas. Cell mimics could also have applications in drug delivery due to their ability to release cargo. This research was published in Nature.
“Think of the cell mimics like the PAC-MAN video game—they go around eating the pollutants and removing them from the environment,” said lead author Stefano Sacanna.
The team is working to further develop the cell mimics to perform additional tasks and study how synthetic cells could communicate with each other.
Video: Artificial cell ingests, locks in and expels foreign particles under microscope. Credit: Sacanna Lab, NYU
Video: Artifical cell ingests E. coli bacteria. Credit: Sacanna Lab, NYU