Emergence of Cell Behavior Through Feedback Control of Polymersome Membrane Transport

Artificial cell and organelle construction has recently gained substantial attention to generate simplified models for understanding of biological phenomena, or micro- and nanomachines for biomedical and biotechnological applications. A wide array of building blocks has been employed to build these systems as membraneless structures with the ability to compartmentalize chemical reactions by enhanced partitioning, or as membrane-defined entities that provide a physical barrier that inhibits the interference of external factors. While these systems present unique properties that enable high fidelity to biological processes, they present limited ability to recreate the high selectivity and specificity of small molecule trafficking observed in biological membranes. Owing to their high chemical versatility, polymers can be leveraged to generate 3D structures that resemble biological membranes while providing transmembrane chemical motifs that enable responsiveness to a wide array of stimuli. This Concept Article discusses the ability to control membrane transport facilitating the emergence of out-of-equilibrium feedback mechanisms that ultimately modulate enzymatic rates. This can be employed to engineer future artificial cells and organelles that display homeostasis as a mechanism of self-adaptation to continuously evolving environments.