Dynamical Behaviors of Oscillating Metallosurfactant Coacervate Microdroplets under Redox Stress.

Living systems create complex structures and functions by mastering self-organization in a variety of equilibrium and non-equilibrium states. Mimicking the dynamical phenomena with synthetic cell-like entities (protocells) under non-equilibrium conditions offers an important step toward the representation of minimum life. Here, the cell-sized coacervate microdroplets assembled from associative metallosurfactant coacervation via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) that exhibits non-equilibrium behaviors are reported.

Artificial receptor-mediated phototransduction toward protocellular subcompartmentalization and signaling-encoded logic gates.

Engineering artificial cellular systems capable of perceiving and transmitting external signals across membranes to activate downstream targets and coordinate protocellular responses is key to build cell-cell communications and protolife. Here, we report a synthetic photoreceptor-mediated signaling pathway with the integration of light harvesting, photo-to-chemical energy conversion, signal transmission, and amplification in synthetic cells, which ultimately resulted in protocell subcompartmentalization. Key to our design is a ruthenium-bipyridine complex that acts as a membrane-anchored photoreceptor to convert visible light into chemical information and transduce signals across the lipid membrane via flip-flop motion.

Annulation of 1-(2-Aminoaryl)pyrroles, Ethers with Elemental Sulfur To Give 1,3,6-Benzothiadiazepine Derivatives through Double C-S Bond Formation and C-O Cleavage of Ethers.

An efficient three-component reaction of 1-(2-aminoaryl)pyrroles, ethers, and elemental sulfur for constructing N-heterocycle-fused 1,3,6-benzothiadiazepines under transition-metal-free conditions has been developed. Ethers act as both reactants and solvent in this reaction. The method proceeds efficiently over a broad range of substrates with good functional group tolerance.