Work

Complex coacervates as artificial membraneless organelles and protocells

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: Complex coacervates are water droplets dispersed in water, which are formed by spontaneous liquid-liquid phase separation of an aqueous solution of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Similar to the membraneless organelles that exist in biological cells, complex coacervate droplets are membraneless and have a myriad of features including easy formation, high viscosity, selective encapsulation of biomolecules, and dynamic behaviors in response to environmental stimuli, which make coacervates an excellent option for constructing artificial membraneless organelles. In this article, I first summarize recent advances in artificial compartments that are built from coacervates and their response to changes in the surrounding environment and then show the advantages of microfluidic techniques in the preparation of monodisperse coacervates and encapsulation of coacervates in droplets and liposomes to construct complex cell-like compartments, and finally discuss the future challenges of such membraneless aqueous compartments in cell mimics and origin of life.

Source: Biomicrofluidics

DOI: 10.1063/5.0023678

Author: Nan-Nan Deng

Institution: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Language: English

Topic: Origins and Evolution of Life

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Award: G1740228658