Bridging the Gap between Nonliving Matter and Cellular Life

Abstract

with simple primitive life. However, whether life emerges from scratch from nonliving matter remains a mystery. Accordingly, understanding the fundamental principles of life processes is still a major scientific challenge. [1] Engineers can create a biological environment absent in nature by employing synthetic biology tools, thus allowing the discovery and elucidation of fundamentally complex biological cells in ways that remain currently impossible. [2] As a result, its essential goal is to regulate the required components to enhance their complexity as the need for comprehension grows. [3] To address fundamental questions regarding the transition from chemistry to biology, the chemical techniques applied to non-living matter to produce life are divided into top-down or bottom-up synthesis. [2] The majority of the top-down approaches have focused on genetic engineering and molecular biology techniques applied to prokaryotes such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia), and others to isolate and generate enzymes, drug precursors, and biofuels for their application in health, bioremediation, environmental, and other therapeutic strategies. [4,5] A bottom-up approach is typically used to create new life-like features, known as artificial cells, from cellular components or non-living matter, to better understand specific cellular characteristics and the origin of life.The generation of an artificial cell factory provides a foundation for critical cell biology research. However, the concept of an artificial cell can be controversial, as factors such as cell size, genetic composition, and morphological similarity need to be considered. [6] Vesicles such as giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), polysaccharidosomes, membrane-less coacervate microdroplets, and hydrogel particles are being explored to mimic the cell organelles and provide a functional unit to address their issues. [7][8][9][10] Though synthetic micro or nanoreactors have been used to mimic life-like functions and to learn about the fundamental biology of natural cells, constructing a life-like structure out of non-living building blocks remains a considerable challenge. In this review, we focus on hybrid approaches that use both natural and synthetic materials to mimic and interface with biological systems (Figure 1). Using hybrid vesicle micro or nanoreactors, bioinspired life-like functions such as chemical compartments, cascade signaling, energy generation, growth, replication, and environmental A cell, the fundamental unit of life, contains the requisite blueprint information necessary to survive and to build tissues, organs, and systems, eventually forming a fully functional living creature. A slight structural alteration can result in data misprinting, throwing the entire life process off balance. Advances in synthetic biology and cell engineering enable the predictable redesign of biological systems to perform novel functions. Individual functions and fundamental processes at the core of the biology of cells can be investig...

Exploring Giant Unilamellar Vesicle Production for Artificial Cells — Current Challenges and Future Directions

“…[20] Possible strategies include membraneless compartments (coacervates [21] ), compartments confined by membranes composed of polymers (polymersomes [22,23] ), proteins (proteinosomes [24] ), or lipids (liposomes [25][26][27] ), or hybrid approaches. [28,29] Given that all life as we know it is compartmentalized by lipid membranes across all kingdoms of life, [30,31] liposomes are the closest mimic to biological cells and therefore ultimately the best choice as the compartment for an artificial cell made to closely mimic its biological inspiration. The use of liposomes also ensures compatibility with other biological building blocks, such as membrane-bound enzymes and transporters.…”

Tonicity-induced cargo loading into extracellular vesicles

“…[1][2][3][4] Substantial endeavors have been dedicated to unraveling the significance of EVs in various diseases, alongside exploring their potential applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. [5][6][7][8] Different from synthetic nanocarriers, EVs possess the unique ability to traverse diverse physiological barriers, including the formidable blood-brain barrier, rendering them invaluable for the treatment of neurological disorders. 3,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Moreover, EVs are recognized for orchestrating intricate signalling cascades that influence a spectrum of physiological and pathological processes, including metastasis.…”

“…1–4 Substantial endeavors have been dedicated to unraveling the significance of EVs in various diseases, alongside exploring their potential applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. 5–8 Different from synthetic nanocarriers, EVs possess the unique ability to traverse diverse physiological barriers, including the formidable blood–brain barrier, rendering them invaluable for the treatment of neurological disorders. 3,9–15…”

Synthesis of artificial cells via biocatalytic polymerisation-induced self-assembly

“…The ability to imitate life formation processes holds exciting potential for understanding and controlling biological functions and addressing questions about the origins of life. [1][2][3][4] Creating a fully artificial cell remains a significant challenge; however, researchers have made substantial progress in emulating various aspects of living systems, such as cell-like structures, [5][6][7] growth and replication, 8,9 communication, 10,11 responsiveness, [12][13][14] protein expression, [12][13][14] and enzymatic activity. 13,15 Moreover, artificial compartments have been previously used for TX-TL studies.…”