Biomaterial Database

From self-assembled vesicles to protocells. 2010

Irene A Chen, and Peter Walde

FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. ichen@lsdiv.harvard.edu

Self-assembled vesicles are essential components of primitive cells. We review the importance of vesicles during the origins of life, fundamental thermodynamics and kinetics of self-assembly, and experimental models of simple vesicles, focusing on prebiotically plausible fatty acids and their derivatives. We review recent work on interactions of simple vesicles with RNA and other studies of the transition from vesicles to protocells. Finally we discuss current challenges in understanding the biophysics of protocells, as well as conceptual questions in information transmission and self-replication.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D009696	Nucleic Acids	High molecular weight polymers containing a mixture of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides chained together by ribose or deoxyribose linkages.	Nucleic Acid,Acid, Nucleic,Acids, Nucleic
D002462	Cell Membrane	The lipid- and protein-containing, selectively permeable membrane that surrounds the cytoplasm in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.	Plasma Membrane,Cytoplasmic Membrane,Cell Membranes,Cytoplasmic Membranes,Membrane, Cell,Membrane, Cytoplasmic,Membrane, Plasma,Membranes, Cell,Membranes, Cytoplasmic,Membranes, Plasma,Plasma Membranes
D002477	Cells	The fundamental, structural, and functional units or subunits of living organisms. They are composed of CYTOPLASM containing various ORGANELLES and a CELL MEMBRANE boundary.	Cell
D013816	Thermodynamics	A rigorously mathematical analysis of energy relationships (heat, work, temperature, and equilibrium). It describes systems whose states are determined by thermal parameters, such as temperature, in addition to mechanical and electromagnetic parameters. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed)	Thermodynamic