Light-Driven Hybrid Bioreactor Based on Protein-Incorporated Polymer Vesicles

In vitro biochemical synthesis is regarded as a major challenge in replicating cellular functions in engineered systems. Presented is a nanosized hybrid factory where photo-induced biochemical reactions take place resulting in the production of biomolecules. For this purpose, we reconstructed in vitro proton-powered ATP synthesis using artificial organelles, BR/F₀F₁-ATP synthase reconstituted polymer vesicles (proteopolymersomes), which have been made without organic solvent. Importantly, BR/F₀F₁-ATP synthase incorporated polymer vesicles showed an excellent proton leakage characteristic under modified conditions. This research is expected to enhance the potential applications of synthetic artificial membranes from in vitro investigation of cellular metabolism to the fabrication of light-driven biomolecular electronic devices such as optical memory and biofuel cell