One step closer to synthetic life

Researchers at the UK’s University of Nottingham have taken some important first steps to creating a synthetic version of a living cell, a leading science journal reports.

Dr Cameron Alexander and PhD student George Pasparakis in the University's School of Pharmacy have used polymers to construct capsule-like structures that have properties mimicking the surfaces of a real cell.

In work published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, they show how they have been able to encourage the capsules to 'talk' to natural bacteria cells and transfer molecular information.

The breakthrough could have potential medical uses — including the development of new targeted drug delivery systems, where the capsules would be used to carry drug molecules to attack specific diseased cells in the body while leaving healthy cells intact, thereby reducing the number of side effects associated with treatments for illnesses such as cancer.

The technology could also be used as an antimicrobial agent, allowing doctors to destroy harmful bacteria without damaging beneficial bacteria in the body, which could offer a new weapon in the fight against superbugs.

Those possibilities are still a long way in the future, though, said Alexander.

“These are very primitive steps in the lab, and still a long way from a true synthetic counterpart to a biological cell, but we have demonstrated that we can transfer certain molecules from inside the synthetic capsule to the bacteria when they are in physical contact, which is an exciting development,” he said.

“It's extremely early stages, but it's a move closer to the big experiment when we can one day ask whether a natural cell can think a synthetic cell is one of its own.”

The work has been funded through the IDEAS Factory program run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which aims to promote ‘blue sky’, curiosity-led research.