Collective Behaviour in Synthetic Protocell Consortia

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Making new materials that have small-scale structures and multiple components is expected to be of great importance in a wide range of applications such as sensing, storage and release operations, and controlled catalysis. One new area where small-scale structures could make a significant breakthrough is in the formation of artificial cell-like materials (protocells). Much of the inspiration for this approach comes from mimicking key aspects of the living cell, albeit with a large degree of simplification. Our approach to addressing the necessary simplification is to draw inspiration from imaginative scenarios that are being considered as plausible mechanisms for prebiotic organization on the early Earth. We are therefore inspired by these protolife-based models of materials organization to develop new strategies in the laboratory that will result in the design and construction of chemical micro-compartments with novel properties and functions. In a sense, we aim to abstract ideas about the past in order to develop new technologies for the future. Although several new types of protocells are currently available, the design of synthetic protocell communities and investigation of their collective behaviour has received little attention. In this regard, the proposed work has two main themes that will help us develop guidelines for the rational design, construction and collective behaviour of new classes of integrated materials based on soft cell-like colloidal micro-compartments. One theme focuses on preparing protocells with layers of organization ("nested" structures) and capturing different components in different chambers of these hierarchical small objects. For example, we intend to trap key enzymes in different layers of the nested protocells so that controlled chemical pathways can be established within each individual protocell. Moreover, we wish to try and build a synthetic protocell that has a "nucleus" within it, which contains genetic information that can be used to synthesize proteins and enzymes (catalysts). Complementary to these studies, a second theme focuses on mixtures of single-chambered protocells that together form a "community" of small-scale objects with different properties and functions. Our goal is to develop micro-engineering methods using acoustic standing waves to place members of the protocell community in specific locations within an ordered array so that they can chemically communicate with each other. In addition, we aim to produce aqueous dispersions containing a mixed population of protocells that exhibit a simple form of predatory-prey behaviour. For this, we will design a "killer" protocell that will specifically target and chemically disassemble a second type of protocell when they come into contact. This will allow us to study complex interactions within this community of small-scale objects, and to develop new concepts such as protocell "self-defence" and "tit-for-tat" strategies in mixed populations of interacting artificial cell-like microstructures.