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Wang L, Song S, van Hest J, Abdelmohsen LKEA, Huang X, Sánchez S. Biomimicry of Cellular Motility and Communication Based on Synthetic Soft-Architectures. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1907680. [PMID: 32250035 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201907680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cells, sophisticated membrane-bound units that contain the fundamental molecules of life, provide a precious library for inspiration and motivation for both society and academia. Scientists from various disciplines have made great endeavors toward the understanding of the cellular evolution by engineering artificial counterparts (protocells) that mimic or initiate structural or functional cellular aspects. In this regard, several works have discussed possible building blocks, designs, functions, or dynamics that can be applied to achieve this goal. Although great progress has been made, fundamental-yet complex-behaviors such as cellular communication, responsiveness to environmental cues, and motility remain a challenge, yet to be resolved. Herein, recent efforts toward utilizing soft systems for cellular mimicry are summarized-following the main outline of cellular evolution, from basic compartmentalization, and biological reactions for energy production, to motility and communicative behaviors between artificial cell communities or between artificial and natural cell communities. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives in the field are discussed, hoping to inspire more future research and to help the further advancement of this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Wang
- MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin, 150001, China
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Baldiri i Reixac 10-12, Barcelona, 08028, Spain
| | - Shidong Song
- Department of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, MB, 5600, The Netherlands
| | - Jan van Hest
- Department of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, MB, 5600, The Netherlands
| | - Loai K E A Abdelmohsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, MB, 5600, The Netherlands
| | - Xin Huang
- MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Samuel Sánchez
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Baldiri i Reixac 10-12, Barcelona, 08028, Spain
- Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Pg. Lluis Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
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