Premium
Engineering spatiotemporal organization and dynamics in synthetic cells
Author(s) -
Groaz Alessandro,
Moghimianavval Hossein,
Tavella Franco,
Giessen Tobias W.,
Vecchiarelli Anthony G.,
Yang Qiong,
Liu Allen P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1939-0041
pISSN - 1939-5116
DOI - 10.1002/wnan.1685
Subject(s) - compartmentalization (fire protection) , synthetic biology , nanotechnology , computer science , biology , computational biology , materials science , biochemistry , enzyme
Abstract Constructing synthetic cells has recently become an appealing area of research. Decades of research in biochemistry and cell biology have amassed detailed part lists of components involved in various cellular processes. Nevertheless, recreating any cellular process in vitro in cell‐sized compartments remains ambitious and challenging. Two broad features or principles are key to the development of synthetic cells—compartmentalization and self‐organization/spatiotemporal dynamics. In this review article, we discuss the current state of the art and research trends in the engineering of synthetic cell membranes, development of internal compartmentalization, reconstitution of self‐organizing dynamics, and integration of activities across scales of space and time. We also identify some research areas that could play a major role in advancing the impact and utility of engineered synthetic cells. This article is categorized under: Biology‐Inspired Nanomaterials > Lipid‐Based Structures Biology‐Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus‐Based Structures