Encapsulation of a compartmentalized cytoplasm mimic within a lipid membrane by microfluidics

Abstract

There is growing interest in analyzing the effect of microenvironments, which may be mimicked through liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), on the reactivity of biological macromolecules. We report the encapsulation by microfluidics of the division protein FtsZ and a LLPS system inside microdroplets and their conversion into permeable vesicles (allowing ligand uptake), with higher yield, homogeneity and biomolecular compatibility than those previously described.