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Phagocytosis-inspired behaviour in synthetic protocell communities of compartmentalized colloidal objects

Nature Materials volume 16, pages 857–863 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

The spontaneous assembly of micro-compartmentalized colloidal objects capable of controlled interactions offers a step towards rudimentary forms of collective behaviour in communities of artificial cell-like entities (synthetic protocells). Here we report a primitive form of artificial phagocytosis in a binary community of synthetic protocells in which multiple silica colloidosomes are selectively ingested by self-propelled magnetic Pickering emulsion (MPE) droplets comprising particle-free fatty acid-stabilized apertures. Engulfment of the colloidosomes enables selective delivery and release of water-soluble payloads, and can be coupled to enzyme activity within the MPE droplets. Our results highlight opportunities for the development of new materials based on consortia of colloidal objects, and provide a novel microscale engineering approach to inducing higher-order behaviour in mixed populations of synthetic protocells.

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Figure 1: Design concept for phagocytosis-inspired behaviour.
Figure 2: Aperture formation in MPE droplets.
Figure 3: Engulfment of silica colloidosomes by MPE droplets.
Figure 4: Payload delivery, release and reactivity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme for funding the work under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement, no. 656490, A. Patil for fruitful discussions, L. Powell for help with magnetite particle synthesis and MPE droplet preparation, and the Krüss Facility and Electron Microscopy Unit (School of Chemistry, University of Bristol) for assistance with contact angle/interfacial tension measurements and SEM imaging, respectively.

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  1. Centre for Protolife Research and Centre for Organized Matter Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK

    Laura Rodríguez-Arco, Mei Li & Stephen Mann

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  1. Laura Rodríguez-Arco
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  2. Mei Li
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  3. Stephen Mann
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Contributions

L.R.-A., M.L. and S.M. conceived the experiments; L.R.-A. performed the experiments; L.R.-A. and M.L. undertook the data analysis; L.R.-A., M.L. and S.M. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Stephen Mann.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Rodríguez-Arco, L., Li, M. & Mann, S. Phagocytosis-inspired behaviour in synthetic protocell communities of compartmentalized colloidal objects. Nature Mater 16, 857–863 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4916

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