Artificial cells and biological cells fit together!

For the first time, researchers have combined living cells with non-living cells to enable them to work together.
this paves the way for the development of many new applications.
the system, developed by a team at Imperial College Uk, wraps biological cells inside artificial cells.
in this way, researchers are able to use the natural ability of biological cells to process chemicals while protecting them from environmental influences.
the system can be used in many applications, such as the use of photosynthesis cell "cells" for drug synthesis in the body, and biosensors that can withstand harsh environments.
the artificial cells of the past need to rely on "machines" of some biological cells, such as enzymes that support chemical reactions, and encapsulate them into artificial shells.
the study, published March 14 in Scientific Reports, is a step closer to encapsulating entire cells in an artificial shell.
these artificial cells contain enzymes that work with biological cells to produce new chemicals.
in validation experiments, the researchers asked the cells to produce a fluorescent compound to confirm that the system functioned as expected. Professor Oscar Cess, of the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College
, who led the study, said: "Biological cells can perform very complex functions, but it's hard to control them.
artificial cells are relatively easy to program, but we can't make them so complex.
" Our new system will fuse the entire biological and artificial cells, making up for the shortcomings of both methods and allowing the two to work together to produce the substances we need."
This is a paradigm shift in our way of thinking about artificial cell design, helping to open up and accelerate their application in medical and other fields.
" researchers used microfluidic technology to develop the system: guiding liquids through tiny channels.
they use water and oil that cannot be mixed to produce specific sizes of biological cells and enzyme droplets, and then apply artificial coatings to droplets to protect them, creating an artificial cell environment.
they tested the artificial cells in a high copper solution, which is usually highly toxic to biological cells, but the team was still able to detect fluorescent substances in most artificial cells, meaning that biological cells are still alive and functioning properly.
this ability is useful in the human body because the artificial cell shell protects foreign biological cells from being attacked by their own immune systems. Dr Yuval Elani, a researcher at the British Engineering and Natural Sciences Research Council at
and the first author of the study, said: "The system we designed is controllable and customizable.
we can make artificial cells of different sizes in a repeatable way, and have the potential to add all kinds of cell mechanisms, such as chloroplasts for photosynthesis, or engineered microorganisms that can act as sensors. "To improve the function of these artificial cells, the next step is to improve the artificial coating to make it more like a biocell membrane with special functions,"
.
, for example, that if the cell membrane is turned on only in response to a specific signal, releasing the chemicals produced in the cell, it can deliver the drug to a designated location in the body.
technology will be useful, for example, in cancer treatment, the drug can be delivered only accurately to the tumor, thereby reducing side effects.
While systems like this may be some way from being put into practice, the team says the study is a promising step in the right direction.
this is a precedent for the combination of live cells and non-living components at Imperial College and the FABRICELL Center for Artificial Cell Science at King's College, Cambridge.
Source: China Biotechnology Network.