Spontaneous and Driven Growth of Multicellular Lipid Compartments to Millimeter Size from Porous Polymer Structures**

Abstract

This report describes a method to obtain multicellular shaped compartments made by lipids growing from a sponge-like porous structure. Each compartment is several tens of micrometers in diameter and separated by membranes comprised of phospholipid and amphipathic molecules. The multi-compartment structure spontaneously grew to a millimeter scale, driven by an ionic concentration difference between the interior and exterior environments of the sponge. These compartments can also easily incorporate hydrophilic species as a well as smaller materials such as liposomes. Additionally, we showed that mechanical squeezing of the sponge was also effective in producing multicellular bodies. These simple methods to obtain large-scale multicellular compartment of lipid membrane will help future designs and trials of chemical communications on artificial cells.

Scalable Synthesis of Planar Macroscopic Lipid-Based Multi-Compartment Structures

“…To address such limitations, our group have previously shown a new simple method to form MC lipid-based structures from lipid-soaked sponges in the millimeter range. 39 While this work paved the way toward practical large-scale MC assemblies, there were still limitations in the overall size, due to which we could only form connections of one compartment type and direct controllability in the resulting structure was not possible. Here, we present a drastic improvement in the formation of MC lipid-based structures into the centimeter range.…”

“…While serving as interesting models, their requirement for an external oil phase limits their practical utility. − A small number of studies have begun to utilize such MC structures by connecting different mono-functional compartments together, and a greater group functionality was achieved. , These studies have so far been limited in size and complexity due to the difficulties in easily producing large MC structures, especially with a directed assembly. To address such limitations, our group have previously shown a new simple method to form MC lipid-based structures from lipid-soaked sponges in the millimeter range . While this work paved the way toward practical large-scale MC assemblies, there were still limitations in the overall size, due to which we could only form connections of one compartment type and direct controllability in the resulting structure was not possible.…”

Marshmallow-like Macroporous Silicone Monoliths as Reflective Standards and High Solar-Reflective Materials

“…Our group has studied flexible white silicone monoliths, which we call marshmallow-like gels (MGs), from the copolymerization of tetra-, tri- and difunctional organosilicon alkoxides in aqueous systems. , Owing to their high porosity, low bulk density, excellent thermal insulation properties, outstanding water repellency, and chemical resistance, these highly flexible and porous materials have been successfully applied in various fields. Consequently, we have reported their utilization in diverse applications, such as thermal insulators, separation media, , liquid-repellent materials, , liquid nitrogen retention materials, and giant vesicle formation tools. ,, In recent applied research, our group has developed an optical tactile sensor that utilizes the intensity change of multiple Mie scattering by a skeleton with a few micrometers in diameter inside the MGs . The silicone framework of MG effectively scatters a wide range of wavelengths in the visible and near-infrared spectrum due to its size.…”

Marshmallow-like macroporous silicone monoliths as reflective standards and high solar-reflective materials

“…6,7 We have reported the applications of these materials in thermal insulators, separation media, 7 liquid-repellent materials, 8,9 liquid nitrogen retention materials, 10 and giant vesicle formation tools. [11][12][13] In recent applied research, our group has developed an optical tactile sensor that utilizes the change in the intensity of Mie scattering generated inside MGs. 14 Despite using a porous silicone material with high porosity as the optical material, this sensor could be made as thin as 1 mm because of its low light penetration from the outside.…”