Engineering Motile Coacervate Droplets via Nanomotor Stabilization.

Area of Science:

• Synthetic biology
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Coacervate-based artificial cells show promise for mimicking life-like functions but lack motility.
• The dynamic nature of coacervates hinders the stable integration of motile components.
• Achieving controlled motility in artificial cells is a significant challenge in synthetic biology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable, motile coacervate-based artificial cell system.
• To integrate nanomotors onto coacervate interfaces for controlled movement.
• To explore the influence of nanomotor density and coacervate properties on motility.

Main Methods:

• Physically anchoring gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-coated nanomotors to the coacervate interface using electrostatic interactions.
• Stabilizing coacervates with a terpolymer membrane to maintain structural integrity during motion.
• Investigating the effect of nanomotor concentration on surface coverage and motile behavior.

Main Results:

• Successfully immobilized nanomotors on coacervate surfaces, enabling stable, light-driven micromotor behavior.
• Optimal patchy nanomotor coverage facilitated efficient light-induced motion via the surface plasmon thermal effect.
• Motility dynamics were tunable by adjusting nanomotor density, coacervate size, and laser intensity.

Conclusions:

• This study presents the first coacervate system with effectively transferred motility using nanoparticle and terpolymer stabilization.
• The developed artificial cells demonstrate controllable, light-driven locomotion, advancing synthetic cell capabilities.
• This approach offers a new platform for designing functional artificial cells with engineered movement.