Dissipative self-assembly of vesicular nanoreactors

Dissipative self-assembly is exploited by nature to control important biological functions, such as cell division, motility and signal transduction. The ability to construct synthetic supramolecular assemblies that require the continuous consumption of energy to remain in the functional state is an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature chemistry 2016-07, Vol.8 (7), p.725-731
Main Authors: Maiti, Subhabrata, Fortunati, Ilaria, Ferrante, Camilla, Scrimin, Paolo, Prins, Leonard J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Adenosine triphosphate
Analytical Chemistry
ATP
Biochemistry
Cell division
Chemical fuels
Chemical reactions
Chemistry
Chemistry/Food Science
Energy consumption
Energy dissipation
Inorganic Chemistry
Nuclear fuels
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Self-assembly
Signal transduction
Vesicles
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Summary:Dissipative self-assembly is exploited by nature to control important biological functions, such as cell division, motility and signal transduction. The ability to construct synthetic supramolecular assemblies that require the continuous consumption of energy to remain in the functional state is an essential premise for the design of synthetic systems with lifelike properties. Here, we show a new strategy for the dissipative self-assembly of functional supramolecular structures with high structural complexity. It relies on the transient stabilization of vesicles through noncovalent interactions between the surfactants and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which acts as the chemical fuel. It is shown that the lifetime of the vesicles can be regulated by controlling the hydrolysis rate of ATP. The vesicles sustain a chemical reaction but only as long as chemical fuel is present to keep the system in the out-of-equilibrium state. The lifetime of the vesicles determines the amount of reaction product produced by the system. Dissipative self-assembly processes are energetically uphill and require the continuous consumption of energy. Now, by using ATP as a chemical fuel, the dissipative self-assembly of vesicles has been demonstrated. These transiently formed supramolecular assemblies are able to sustain a chemical reaction and it is shown that the yield depends on the lifetime of the vesicles.
ISSN:1755-4330
1755-4349
DOI:10.1038/nchem.2511