Abstract
Giant lipid vesicles or liposomes are primarily composed of phospholipids and form a lipid bilayer structurally similar to that of the cell membrane. These vesicles, like living cells, are 5–100 μm in diameter and can be easily observed using an optical microscope. As their biophysical and biochemical properties are similar to those of the cell membrane, they serve as model cell membranes for the investigation of the biophysical or biochemical properties of the lipid bilayer, as well as its dynamics and structure. Investigation of membrane protein functions and enzyme reactions has revealed the presence of soluble or membrane proteins integrated in the giant lipid vesicles. Recent developments in microfluidic technologies and synthetic biology have enabled the development of well-defined artificial cell models with complex reactions based on the giant lipid vesicles. In this review, using microfluidics, the formations of giant lipid vesicles with asymmetric lipid membranes or complex structures have been described. Subsequently, the roles of these biomaterials in the creation of artificial cell models including nanopores, ion channels, and other membrane and soluble proteins have been discussed. Finally, the complex biological functions of giant lipid vesicles reconstituted with various types of biomolecules has been communicated. These complex artificial cell models contribute to the production of minimal cells or protocells for generating valuable or rare biomolecules and communicating between living cells and artificial cell models.
Highlights
Lipid vesicles or liposomes possess a phospholipid bilayer that has the same composition as that of living cells [1,2]
Microfluidic technology allows for the formation of monodispersive giant lipid vesicles with highly encapsulated biomolecules and asymmetric lipid distribution
It facilitates the formation of well-defined giant lipid vesicles
Summary
Lipid vesicles or liposomes possess a phospholipid bilayer that has the same composition as that of living cells [1,2]. The phospholipid bilayer of living cells, the cell membrane, has various types of membrane proteins like ion channels [3,4], transporters [5,6], enzymes [7,8], and receptors [9,10] These membrane proteins on the cell membrane facilitate the transport of molecules between the intracellular and extracellular environments, energy exchange [11,12], and signal transduction [13,14]. One approach for the assembly of minimal or artificial cell models from biomolecules is the bottom-up approach [34,35,36,37] In this approach, membrane proteins are expressed and purified from living cells like Escherichia coli (E. coli), yeast, insect, and mammalian cells, and reconstituted into giant lipid vesicles. The formations of giant lipid vesicles that emulate living cells, using microfluidic technology, and the cell functions of sequential complex protein reactions into the giant lipid vesicles have been discussed
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