Poly(ferrocenylsilane)-Based Redox-Active Artificial Organelles for Biomimetic Cascade Reactions

Jiayi You; Yonghui Qian; Shuhan Xiong; Peipei Zhang; Vincent Mukwaya; Yael Levi-Kalisman; Uri Raviv; Hongjing Dou

doi:10.1002/chem.202401435

Poly(ferrocenylsilane)-Based Redox-Active Artificial Organelles for Biomimetic Cascade Reactions

Chemistry. 2024 May 13:e202401435. doi: 10.1002/chem.202401435. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jiayi You¹, Yonghui Qian¹, Shuhan Xiong², Peipei Zhang², Vincent Mukwaya², Yael Levi-Kalisman³, Uri Raviv⁴, Hongjing Dou⁵

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, 200240, Shanghai, CHINA.
² Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, CHINA.
³ The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Life Sciences, ISRAEL.
⁴ The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, ISRAEL.
⁵ Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, 800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, CHINA.

PMID: 38739532
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202401435

Abstract

Artificial organelles serve as functional counterparts to natural organelles, which are primarily employed to artificially replicate, restore, or enhance cellular functions. While most artificial organelles exhibit basic functions, we diverge from this norm by utilizing poly(ferrocenylmethylethylthiocarboxypropylsilane) microcapsules (PFC MCs) to construct multifunctional artificial organelles through water/oil interfacial self-assembly. Within these PFC MCs, enzymatic cascades are induced through active molecular exchange across the membrane to mimic the functions of enzymes in mitochondria. We harness the inherent redox properties of the PFC polymer, which forms the membrane, to facilitate in-situ redox reactions similar to those supported by the inner membrane of natural mitochondria. Subsequent studies have demonstrated the interaction between PFC MCs and living cell including extended lifespans within various cell types. We anticipate that functional PFC MCs have the potential to serve as innovative platforms for organelle mimics capable of executing specific cellular functions.

Keywords: Artificial organelle; Microcapsule; Poly(ferrocenylmethylethylthiocarboxypropylsilane); cascade reaction; redox.