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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Synthetic Condensates and Cell-Like Architectures from Amphiphilic DNA Nanostructures
Published on: May 31, 2024
Question 9: prospects for the construction of artificial cells or protocells
Pierre-Alain Monnard1, H-J Ziock
1Earth and Environmental Sciences EES-6, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA. pmonnard@lanl.gov
Abstract:
The construction of artificial cells or protocells that are a simplified version of contemporary cells will have implications for both the understanding of the origins of cellular Life and the design of "cell-like" chemical factories. In this short communication, we discuss the progress and remaining issues related to the construction of protocells from metabolic products. We further outline the de novo design of a simple chemical system that mimics the functional properties of a living cell without being composed of molecules of biological origin, thereby addressing issues related to Life's origins.
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