Mass transport in biomimetic lipid membrane networks created by light

仿生结构，基于由脂质膜界定和互连的多个隔室，已经显示出作为合成生物学中的最小细胞、用于生物物理和生物化学研究的简化模型系统以及用于药物递送和微反应器技术的智能容器的巨大潜力。因此，人们对开发用于构建这种软物质架构的有效策略非常感兴趣，这种软物质架构可以用于广泛的应用，特别是在医疗保健和制药行业中。更具体地，合成的软纳米管网络，包括由纳米管结构连接的细胞大小的液体隔室，已被广泛用作研究物理和生物化学过程的模型系统。这种结构非常类似于细胞桥接纳米管道，也称为隧道纳米管，遥远的细胞可以创建它们来建立彼此之间的通信路径。纳米管不仅可以促进生物材料在细胞间的转移，而且还可以促进传染病的传播、调节肿瘤细胞的微环境和抵抗治疗，在病理过程中发挥重要作用。本项目旨在开发新的方法，用于制造和表征可调形态的2D和3D脂质膜网络，由纳米管结构连接的细胞状微室组成，并发现这些软物质网络内增强质量传输的新物理化学机制。先进的光学显微镜技术，包括光镊，原子力显微镜和荧光寿命成像，将被采用来创建和控制脂质网络和质量传输过程。该研究成果将为活细胞和软物质系统的物理和化学基础研究开辟新的途径，并能够开发基于人工细胞纳米管网络的创新健康生命科学技术，用于药物和遗传物质的靶向递送，细胞水平。

Biomimetic structures, based on multiple compartments delimited and interconnected by lipid membranes, have shown a great potential as minimal cells in synthetic biology, simplified model systems for biophysical and biochemical studies and smart containers for drug delivery and microreactor technologies. There is hence a great interest in developing effective strategies for the construction of such soft-matter architectures that can be exploited for a wide range of applications, especially in healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. More specifically, synthetic soft nanotubes networks, comprising cell-sized liquid compartments connected by nanotubular structures, have been extensively used as a model system for the investigation of physical and bio-chemical processes. Such structures closely resemble the cell-bridging nanoconduits, also known as tunneling nanotubes, which distant cells can create to establish a communication route between each other. Tunneling nanotubes can facilitate the transfer of biological materials between cells, but also play an important role in pathological processes by contributing to the spread of infectious diseases, the regulation of tumour cell microenvironment and the resistance to therapies.This project aims to develop new methods for the manufacturing and characterisation of 2D and 3D lipid membrane networks of tunable morphology, made of cell-like micro-compartments connected by nanotubular structures, and to discover new physico-chemical mechanisms for the enhanced mass-transport within these soft-matter networks. Advanced optical microscopy techniques, including optical tweezers, atomic force microscopy and fluorescence-lifetime imaging, will be adopted to create and control the lipid networks and to characterise the mass transport processes. A theoretical framework will also be developed to model and predict the dynamics of flows within the lipid networks.The outcomes of this research may open up new pathways for fundamental research in the physics and chemistry of living cells and soft matter systems, and enable the development of innovative health life sciences technologies based on artificial cell-nanotube networks for the target delivery of drug and genetic material at a single-cell level.