In a first, artificial cell moves on its own using just chemistry

Source: interestingengineering
Author: @IntEngineering
Published: 7/26/2025
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Read original articleScientists at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have created the first artificial cell capable of autonomous movement powered solely by chemical reactions, marking a significant breakthrough in synthetic biology. This minimal synthetic cell consists of just three components: a lipid membrane forming a vesicle, an enzyme inside it, and a membrane pore. When exposed to chemical gradients such as glucose or urea, the enzyme reacts with these molecules, generating an imbalance that drives fluid flow along the vesicle’s surface. The membrane pore creates the necessary asymmetry for propulsion, enabling the vesicle to move directionally toward higher concentrations through chemotaxis—mimicking natural cellular behaviors like bacteria swimming toward nutrients or immune cells moving to infection sites.
This research not only demonstrates a simplified model of chemotaxis without complex biological machinery but also offers insights into early evolutionary mechanisms of cellular movement. The team tested over 10,000 vesicles in controlled microfluidic environments, confirming that vesicles with more pores exhibited stronger chem
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materialssynthetic-biologyartificial-cellschemotaxisenzyme-reactionsmembrane-technologymicrofluidics