Volume 13, Issue 22 1700467
Full Paper

Coordinated Membrane Fusion of Proteinosomes by Contact-Induced Hydrogel Self-Healing

Ping Wen

Ping Wen

MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001 China

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Xiaoman Liu

Xiaoman Liu

MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001 China

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Lei Wang

Lei Wang

MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001 China

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Mei Li

Mei Li

Centre for Protolife Research and Centre for Organized Matter Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS UK

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Yudong Huang

Yudong Huang

MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001 China

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Xin Huang

Corresponding Author

Xin Huang

MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001 China

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Stephen Mann

Corresponding Author

Stephen Mann

Centre for Protolife Research and Centre for Organized Matter Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS UK

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
First published: 25 April 2017
Citations: 40

Abstract

Controlled membrane fusion of proteinosome-based protocells is achieved via a hydrogel-mediated process involving dynamic covalent binding, self-healing, and membrane reconfiguration at the contact interface. The rate of proteinosome fusion is dependent on dynamic Schiff base covalent interchange, and is accelerated in the presence of encapsulated glucose oxidase and glucose, or inhibited with cinnamyl aldehyde due to enzyme-mediated decreases in pH or competitive covalent binding, respectively. The coordinated fusion of the proteinosomes leads to the concomitant transportation and redistribution of entrapped payloads such as DNA and dextran. Silica colloids with amino-functionalized surfaces undergo partial fusion with the proteinosomes via a similar dynamic hydrogel-mediated mechanism. Overall, the strategy provides opportunities for the development of interacting colloidal objects, control of collective behavior in soft matter microcompartmentalized systems, and increased complexity in synthetic protocell communities.

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