Catalytic processing in ruthenium-based polyoxometalate coacervate protocells

Pierangelo Gobbo, Liangfei Tian, B. V. V. S Pavan Kumar, Samuel Turvey, Mattia Cattelan, Avinash J. Patil (), Mauro Carraro, Marcella Bonchio () and Stephen Mann ()
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Pierangelo Gobbo: University of Bristol
Liangfei Tian: University of Bristol
B. V. V. S Pavan Kumar: University of Bristol
Samuel Turvey: University of Bristol
Mattia Cattelan: University of Bristol
Avinash J. Patil: University of Bristol
Mauro Carraro: Università di Padova
Marcella Bonchio: Università di Padova
Stephen Mann: University of Bristol

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The development of programmable microscale materials with cell-like functions, dynamics and collective behaviour is an important milestone in systems chemistry, soft matter bioengineering and synthetic protobiology. Here, polymer/nucleotide coacervate micro-droplets are reconfigured into membrane-bounded polyoxometalate coacervate vesicles (PCVs) in the presence of a bio-inspired Ru-based polyoxometalate catalyst to produce synzyme protocells (Ru4PCVs) with catalase-like activity. We exploit the synthetic protocells for the implementation of multi-compartmentalized cell-like models capable of collective synzyme-mediated buoyancy, parallel catalytic processing in individual horseradish peroxidase-containing Ru4PCVs, and chemical signalling in distributed or encapsulated multi-catalytic protocell communities. Our results highlight a new type of catalytic micro-compartment with multi-functional activity and provide a step towards the development of protocell reaction networks.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13759-1

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