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Microfluidics for Biosynthesizing: from Droplets and Vesicles to Artificial Cells
Yongjian Ai1, Ruoxiao Xie1, Jialiang Xiong1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Beijing Key Lab of Microanalytical Methods & Instrumentation, Department of Chemistry, Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|October 12, 2019
Summary
Microfluidic techniques enable the high-throughput synthesis of artificial cells. This review covers advances in creating droplets, vesicles, and artificial cells for biomimetic applications and synthetic biology.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Synthetic Biology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Artificial biomimetic materials, particularly artificial cells, are crucial for various scientific disciplines.
- Microfluidic techniques offer precise control, high throughput, and ease of operation for synthesizing artificial cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize recent advancements in microfluidic-based methods for synthesizing droplets, vesicles, and artificial cells.
- To review the engineering of artificial cells for mimicking cellular functions and applications in synthetic biology.
- To discuss current challenges and future trends in the field.
Main Methods:
- Review of microfluidic techniques including T-junction, flow-focusing, and coflowing devices for droplet fabrication and manipulation.
- Summary of microfluidic approaches for forming unicompartmental and multicompartmental vesicles.
- Analysis of droplet-based and vesicle-based artificial cell engineering using microfluidics.
Main Results:
- Microfluidics facilitates the precise fabrication and manipulation of droplets and vesicles.
- Engineered artificial cells demonstrate potential in imitating cell behavior and serving as bioreactors.
- Significant progress has been made in synthesizing complex artificial cell structures.
Conclusions:
- Microfluidic-based synthesis is a powerful tool for creating advanced artificial cells.
- Artificial cells hold great promise for applications in biomimicry and synthetic biology.
- Further research is needed to address current challenges and explore future trends in microfluidic artificial cell development.
