Pearling and helical nanostructures of model protocell membranes  

作　　者：Zhidi Chen Yaxun Fan Yao Chen Jeffrey Penfold Peixun Li Rongliang Wu Yilin Wang 

机构地区：[1]CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid,Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences(BNLMS),CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences,Institute of Chemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190,China [2]University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China [3]ISIS,STFCy Rutherford Appleton Laboratory,Chilton,Didcot,Oxon OX110QX,UK [4]College of Material Science and Engineering,State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials,Donghua University,Shanghai 201620,China

出　　处：《Nano Research》2022年第1期659-668,共10页纳米研究（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21972149 and 21988102).

摘　　要：The diversity of protocell membrane structures is crucial for the regulation of cell activities and indispensable to the origin of life.Prior to the evolution of complex cellular machinery,spontaneous protocell membrane evolution results from the intrinsic physicochemical properties of simple molecules under specific environmental conditions.Here,we report the evolution of the morphology of cell-sized model protocell membranes from giant vesicles to pearling and helical nanostructures,resembling morphologies of eukaryocytes,nostoc,and spirilla.This evolution occurs in a single binary aqueous system composed of an achiral single-chain amphiphile and a biogenic polyamine(spermidine or spermine)upon evaporating water,feeding amphiphiles,or increasing pH in response to various primitive fluctuating conditions.In contrast,nonbiogenic polyamines(triamine,triethylenetetramine,and hexamethyltriethylenetetramine)with slight differences in the number of methylene groups or protonated amine groups do not induce such a kind of evolution.The evolution of the shape transformation strongly relies on the balance between electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding,attributed to the odd/even effect of polyamines in the assembly.Strikingly,both pearling and helical structures emerge from multilamellar vesicles undergoing different processes,where the helix shows stronger permeability and encapsulation capability due to its multicompartmentalized structure.Thus,subtle adjustment of weak intramolecular interactions not only yields significant changes in the morphological evolution of protocell membranes but also brings new insights into the natural inevitability of biogenic small molecules.

关 键 词：protocell membrane pearling and helical nanostructures morphology evolution biogenic polyamine AMPHIPHILE SELF-ASSEMBLY 

分 类 号：TB383[一般工业技术—材料科学与工程]