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Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column

[Image: see text] Many of the properties of bilayer membranes composed of simple single-chain amphiphiles seem to be well-suited for a potential role as primitive cell membranes. However, the spontaneous formation of membranes from such amphiphiles is a concentration-dependent process in which a sig...

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Autores principales: Budin, Itay, Bruckner, Raphael J., Szostak, Jack W.
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Chemical Society 2009
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2710859/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19601679
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja9029818
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author Budin, Itay
Bruckner, Raphael J.
Szostak, Jack W.
author_facet Budin, Itay
Bruckner, Raphael J.
Szostak, Jack W.
author_sort Budin, Itay
collection PubMed
description [Image: see text] Many of the properties of bilayer membranes composed of simple single-chain amphiphiles seem to be well-suited for a potential role as primitive cell membranes. However, the spontaneous formation of membranes from such amphiphiles is a concentration-dependent process in which a significant critical aggregate concentration (cac) must be reached. Since most scenarios for the prebiotic synthesis of fatty acids and related amphiphiles would result in dilute solutions well below the cac, the identification of mechanisms that would lead to increased local amphiphile concentrations is an important aspect of defining reasonable conditions for the origin of cellular life. Narrow, vertically oriented channels within the mineral precipitates of hydrothermal vent towers have previously been proposed to act as natural Clusius−Dickel thermal diffusion columns, in which a strong transverse thermal gradient concentrates dilute molecules through the coupling of thermophoresis and convection. Here we experimentally demonstrate that a microcapillary acting as a thermal diffusion column can concentrate a solution of oleic acid. Upon concentration, self-assembly of large vesicles occurs in regions where the cac is exceeded. We detected vesicle formation by fluorescence microscopy of encapsulated dye cargoes, which simultaneously concentrated in our channels. Our findings suggest a novel means by which simple physical processes could have led to the spontaneous formation of cell-like structures from a dilute prebiotic reservoir.
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spelling pubmed-27108592009-07-15 Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column Budin, Itay Bruckner, Raphael J. Szostak, Jack W. J Am Chem Soc [Image: see text] Many of the properties of bilayer membranes composed of simple single-chain amphiphiles seem to be well-suited for a potential role as primitive cell membranes. However, the spontaneous formation of membranes from such amphiphiles is a concentration-dependent process in which a significant critical aggregate concentration (cac) must be reached. Since most scenarios for the prebiotic synthesis of fatty acids and related amphiphiles would result in dilute solutions well below the cac, the identification of mechanisms that would lead to increased local amphiphile concentrations is an important aspect of defining reasonable conditions for the origin of cellular life. Narrow, vertically oriented channels within the mineral precipitates of hydrothermal vent towers have previously been proposed to act as natural Clusius−Dickel thermal diffusion columns, in which a strong transverse thermal gradient concentrates dilute molecules through the coupling of thermophoresis and convection. Here we experimentally demonstrate that a microcapillary acting as a thermal diffusion column can concentrate a solution of oleic acid. Upon concentration, self-assembly of large vesicles occurs in regions where the cac is exceeded. We detected vesicle formation by fluorescence microscopy of encapsulated dye cargoes, which simultaneously concentrated in our channels. Our findings suggest a novel means by which simple physical processes could have led to the spontaneous formation of cell-like structures from a dilute prebiotic reservoir. American Chemical Society 2009-06-24 2009-07-22 /pmc/articles/PMC2710859/ /pubmed/19601679 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja9029818 Text en Copyright © 2009 American Chemical Society http://pubs.acs.org This is an open-access article distributed under the ACS AuthorChoice Terms & Conditions. Any use of this article, must conform to the terms of that license which are available at http://pubs.acs.org. 40.75
spellingShingle Budin, Itay
Bruckner, Raphael J.
Szostak, Jack W.
Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column
title Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column
title_full Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column
title_fullStr Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column
title_full_unstemmed Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column
title_short Formation of Protocell-like Vesicles in a Thermal Diffusion Column
title_sort formation of protocell-like vesicles in a thermal diffusion column
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2710859/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19601679
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja9029818
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