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Assembly of Cell Mimicking Supported and Suspended Lipid Bilayer Models for the Study of Molecular Interactions
Published on: August 3, 2021
Formation of protocell-like vesicles in a thermal diffusion column
Itay Budin1, Raphael J Bruckner, Jack W Szostak
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|July 16, 2009
Summary
Primitive cell membranes may form spontaneously. Thermal diffusion in microcapillaries concentrated oleic acid, enabling vesicle self-assembly from dilute solutions, suggesting a pathway for early life origins.
Area of Science:
- Origin of life studies
- Biophysics
- Geochemistry
Background:
- Simple amphiphiles form bilayer membranes, crucial for primitive cells.
- Spontaneous membrane formation requires reaching a critical aggregate concentration (cac).
- Prebiotic synthesis typically yields dilute amphiphile solutions below the cac.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate mechanisms for increasing local amphiphile concentrations in prebiotic conditions.
- Explore the role of thermal diffusion columns in concentrating amphiphiles.
- Demonstrate vesicle formation from concentrated amphiphiles.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a microcapillary as a thermal diffusion column.
- Concentrated oleic acid solutions within the microcapillary.
- Employed fluorescence microscopy to detect vesicle formation and encapsulated dye cargoes.
Main Results:
- Successfully concentrated oleic acid solutions using thermal diffusion.
- Observed self-assembly of large vesicles in regions exceeding the critical aggregate concentration.
- Demonstrated simultaneous concentration of encapsulated dye cargoes.
Conclusions:
- Thermal diffusion columns can concentrate amphiphiles from dilute prebiotic solutions.
- Concentration facilitates the spontaneous self-assembly of vesicles, a key step in cell formation.
- This physical process offers a plausible mechanism for the origin of cellular life.
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