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1. Barcoding Biological Reactions with DNA‐Functionalized Vesicles

   https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201911544  

   Peruzzi, Justin A.; Jacobs, Miranda L.; Vu, Timothy Q.; Wang, Kenneth S.; Kamat, Neha P. (October 2019, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)

   Abstract Targeted vesicle fusion is a promising approach to selectively control interactions between vesicle compartments and would enable the initiation of biological reactions in complex aqueous environments. Here, we explore how two features of vesicle membranes, DNA tethers and phase‐segregated membranes, promote fusion between specific vesicle populations. Membrane phase‐segregation provides an energetic driver for membrane fusion that increases the efficiency of DNA‐mediated fusion events. The orthogonality provided by DNA tethers allows us to direct fusion and delivery of DNA cargo to specific vesicle populations. Vesicle fusion between DNA‐tethered vesicles can be used to initiate in vitro protein expression to produce model soluble and membrane proteins. Engineering orthogonal fusion events between DNA‐tethered vesicles provides a new strategy to control the spatiotemporal dynamics of cell‐free reactions, expanding opportunities to engineer artificial cellular systems. 

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2. Hydrodynamics of a multicomponent vesicle under strong confinement

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sm01087b  

   Gannon, Ashley; Quaife, Bryan; Young, Y-N (January 2024, Soft Matter)

   Numerically exploring a vesicle passing through two highly confined channels, we analyze the shape, lubrication layer, energy, tank-treading velocity, and excess pressure of a multicomponent vesicle. 

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3. Nanostar self-assemblies of spherical nanoparticles inside lipid vesicles

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d4sm01332h  

   Zhu, Yu; Sharma, Abash; Spangler, Eric J; Laradji, Mohamed (March 2025, Soft Matter)

   At moderate adhesion strength, nanoparticles (NPs) adhering to the inner side of a lipid vesicle self-assemble into highly ordered two-dimensional star-like nanoclusters with a number of arms determined by the number of NPs inside the vesicle. 

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4. Design principles for transporting vesicles with enclosed active particles ^(a)

   https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/acfab9  

   Uplap, Sarvesh; Hagan, Michael F.; Baskaran, Aparna (September 2023, Europhysics Letters)

   Abstract We use coarse-grained molecular-dynamics simulations to study the motility of a 2D vesicle containing self-propelled rods, as a function of the vesicle bending rigidity and the number density, length, and activity of the enclosed rods. Above a threshold value of the rod length, distinct dynamical regimes emerge, including a dramatic enhancement of vesicle motility characterized by a highly persistent random walk. These regimes are determined by clustering of the rods within the vesicle; the maximum motility state arises when there is one long-lived polar cluster. We develop a scaling theory that predicts the dynamical regimes as a function of control parameters, and shows that feedback between activity and passive membrane forces govern the rod organization. These findings yield design principles for building self-propelled superstructures using independent active agents under deformable confinement. 

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5. Membrane-Binding Biomolecules Influence the Rate of Vesicle Exchange between Bacteria

   https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01346-22  

   Tran, Frances; Gangan, Manasi S.; Weaver, Brian P.; Boedicker, James Q. (December 2022, Applied and Environmental Microbiology)

   Nikel, Pablo Ivan (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT The exchange of bacterial extracellular vesicles facilitates molecular exchange between cells, including the horizontal transfer of genetic material. Given the implications of such transfer events on cell physiology and adaptation, some bacterial cells have likely evolved mechanisms to regulate vesicle exchange. Past work has identified mechanisms that influence the formation of extracellular vesicles, including the production of small molecules that modulate membrane structure; however, whether these mechanisms also modulate vesicle uptake and have an overall impact on the rate of vesicle exchange is unknown. Here, we show that membrane-binding molecules produced by microbes influence both the formation and uptake of extracellular vesicles and have the overall impact of increasing the vesicle exchange rate within a bacterial coculture. In effect, production of compounds that increase vesicle exchange rates encourage gene exchange between neighboring cells. The ability of several membrane-binding compounds to increase vesicle exchange was demonstrated. Three of these compounds, nisin, colistin, and polymyxin B, are antimicrobial peptides added at sub-inhibitory concentrations. These results suggest that a potential function of exogenous compounds that bind to membranes may be the regulation of vesicle exchange between cells. IMPORTANCE The exchange of bacterial extracellular vesicles is one route of gene transfer between bacteria, although it was unclear if bacteria developed strategies to modulate the rate of gene transfer within vesicles. In eukaryotes, there are many examples of specialized molecules that have evolved to facilitate the production, loading, and uptake of vesicles. Recent work with bacteria has shown that some small molecules influence membrane curvature and induce vesicle formation. Here, we show that similar compounds facilitate vesicle uptake, thereby increasing the overall rate of vesicle exchange within bacterial populations. The addition of membrane-binding compounds, several of them antibiotics at subinhibitory concentrations, to a bacterial coculture increased the rate of horizontal gene transfer via vesicle exchange. 

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