Reconstruction of Cellular Processes in Nanoscale Artificial Organelles Solvent-free Incorporation of Proteins into Block Copolymers

Development of a solvent-free method for protein-incorporated polymersome (proteopolymersome) formation is regarded as a major challenge in replicating cellular functions in engineered cellular mimetic systems. Presented is the first successful functional proteopolymersomes made without organic solvents. For this purpose, we reconstructed in vitro proton-powered ATP synthesis using engineered artificial organelles, BR/F0F1-ATP synthase reconstituted polymersomes. This research is expected to enhance the potential applications of synthetic artificial membranes for future hybrid protein/polymer systems.