Current Synthetic and Systems Biology
Open Access

Towards a bionic cell: Coupling compartmentalized synthetic vesicles with biological machinery and living components

2^nd International Conference on Systems & Synthetic Biology

August 18-20, 2016 London, UK

Yuval Elani

Imperial College London, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Curr Synthetic Sys Biol

Abstract :

Vesicle-based artificial cells are considered by many as the next generation of smart soft-matter devices. These are constructed from the bottom-up using a combination of synthetic and biological components to yield engineered synthetic cells with bespoke functionality. We have pioneered a new breed of artificial cells based on multi-compartment vesicles that are generated using droplet-based microfluidics. By transplanting cellular machinery into these vesicles we show that each compartment can be treated as a distinct module devoted to specific biological tasks. We have engineered communication routes between these modules via protein pores and enzymatic signaling cascades and use this for both small-molecule and protein synthesis within the vesicle. We can now also encapsulate whole cells within vesicles and can demonstrate that the vesicle ��?host��? and the cellular ��?organelle��? enjoy a symbiotic relationship. The resulting artificial eukaryote can thus be considered a novel living/synthetic hybrid material.

Biography :

Email: yuval.elani10@imperial.ac.uk