The researchers used their new method to produce three different types of vesicles with a uniform size but different enzymatic cargoes. (Image: University of Basel, Department of Chemistry)
The researchers used their new method to produce three different types of vesicles with a uniform size but different enzymatic cargoes. (Image: University of Basel, Department of Chemistry) Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a precisely controllable system for mimicking biochemical reaction cascades in cells. Using microfluidic technology, they produce miniature polymeric reaction containers equipped with the desired properties. This "cell on a chip" is useful not only for studying processes in cells, but also for the development of new synthetic pathways for chemical applications or for biological active substances in medicine. In order to survive, grow and divide, cells rely on a multitude of different enzymes that catalyze many successive reactions. Given the complexity of processes in living cells, it is impossible to determine when specific enzymes are present at what concentrations and what their optimum proportions are relative to one another. Instead, researchers use smaller, synthetic systems as models in order to study these processes.
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