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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jul 7.
Published in final edited form as: J Phys Chem Lett. 2011 Jul 7;2(13):1612–1623. doi: 10.1021/jz200640x

Figure 1. A Polymersome Protocell.

Figure 1

Polymersomes can be used as a template to create cell-like structures. Creating an autonomous particle that mimics the diverse behaviors of a cell will require incorporation of biological functionality in the membrane, the ability to trigger responses, autonomous movement, and morphological changes. Many of these functions will require organized metabolic reactions and gene expression to be housed within distinct spatial environments in the polymersome.

Illustration of the mechanosensitive protein channel courtesy of David S. Goodsell and the RCSB PBD (doi:10.2210/rcsb_pdb/mom_2008_11). Dendrimer structure taken from Percec, V. and Co-authors, 2011: Self-Assembly of Janus Dendrimers into Uniform Dendrimersomes and Other Complex Architectures. Science, 328, 5981. Reprinted with permission from AAAS.