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Updated: May 30, 2025

In Vitro Reconstitution of Self-Organizing Protein Patterns on Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 28, 2018
Chemically Triggered Reactive Coacervates Show Life-Like Budding and Membrane Formation
Sudeep Koppayithodi1, Nishant Singh1
1Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM), Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana 12071, Spain.
Abstract:
Phase-separated coacervates can enhance reaction kinetics and guide multilevel self-assembly, mimicking early cellular evolution. In this work, we introduce "reactive" complex coacervates that undergo chemically triggered self-immolative transformations, directing the self-assembly of the reaction products within their matrix. These self-assemblies then evolve to show life-like properties such as budding and membrane formation. We find that the coacervate composition critically influences reaction rates and product distribution and guides the hierarchical self-assembly. This work showcases "reactive" coacervates as a versatile platform to influence reaction and self-assembly pathways for controlled supramolecular synthesis and hierarchical self-organization in confined spaces.
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