Premium
Cover Feature: Minimalist Protocell Design: A Molecular System Based Solely on Proteins that Form Dynamic Vesicular Membranes Embedding Enzymatic Functions (ChemBioChem 20/2019)
Author(s) -
Huber Matthias C.,
Schreiber Andreas,
Schiller Stefan M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.201900540
Subject(s) - protocell , amphiphile , membrane , compartmentalization (fire protection) , enzyme , biochemistry , function (biology) , chemistry , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry , copolymer , polymer
Designing biocatalytically active compartments as minimalist cells/protocells is of high interest in basic and applied science. Usually cells are compartmentalized by using lipid membranes with protein‐based enzymes for biocatalytic function. Here we show a new approach of molecular “simplification” demonstrating the potential of amphiphilic proteins to constitute dynamic lipid‐membrane‐like compartmentalization combined with enzymatic functions. The image highlights the constitution of amphiphilic block domain proteins based on a small number of amino acids functionally expanded with an enzyme or fluorescent protein and assembled into dynamic membranes constituting protocells. More information can be found in the full paper by M. C. Huber. S. M. Schiller, and A. Schreiber on page 2618 in Issue 20, 2019 (DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201900283).