Construction of artificial cell encapsulating cross-catalyst system

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K17850
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Functional solid state chemistry
• Research Institution: Okazaki Research Facilities, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
• Principal Investigator: KURIHARA Kensuke 大学共同利用機関法人自然科学研究機構(岡崎共通研究施設), 岡崎統合バイオサイエンスセンター, 特任准教授 (80740919)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ベシクル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In Sugawara's self-reproducing vesicular systems, the vesicle containing amplified DNA self-reproduced more rapidly. It means that compartment and information interacted each other. However, little research has been done on the protocellular system in which reproduction of container interacts with reproduction of another element, i.e. catalyst. In order to realize the protocell containing the catalyst-producing system, we introduce a cross-catalytic vesicular system. In our protocell cell, production of the vesicular membrane molecules is accelerated by the catalyst synthesized in the same vesicle, whereas the catalysts are produced in the hydrophobic environment of the vesicular membrane. After addition of the membrane precursor to the vesicle containing synthesized catalyst, we observed self-reproduction of the vesicle. Furthermore, we succeeded in construction of the cellular system in which membrane molecules and catalysts coordinated by synthesizing from the same substances.

Free Research Field

超分子化学