Synthetic Cells Fight Disease

As bacteria continue to develop resistance to traditional antibiotics, there is a critical need to uncover new treatment approaches. To that end, one team of researchers has designed a system for constructing artificial cells that seek out and destroy specific pathogens.

The cells are built from the ground up using liposomes – tiny spheres of phospholipids that can be used to carry drugs or nutrients to tissues and cells – as a membrane. The internal components (cytosol, proteins, DNA and metabolites) are selected to respond to the chemical signature of the target bacteria. The components were also optimized to function in a non-nutrient-rich environment, which greatly expanded their overall potential.

The concept has been demonstrated to be successful in detecting, attacking and destroying e. Coli bacteria in laboratory experiments. The hope is that artificial cells will one day be effective against some of the toughest antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.