Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33046841›Full record

ArticleNature chemistry2020

Enzyme-free synthesis of natural phospholipids in water.

Luping Liu, Yike Zou, Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Dongyang Zhang, Susan Q Lang, K N Houk, Neal K Devaraj

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature chemistry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed
8.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 92 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Chemiosmotic ATP synthesis by minimal protocells.Cell reports. Physical science · 2025
    Article
  15. Synthetic Lipid Biology.Chemical reviews · 2025
    Review
  16. Electricity in the Creation of Life.Reviews of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology · 2025
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Luping LiuDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Yike ZouDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Ahanjit BhattacharyaDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6810-9537
Dongyang ZhangDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2365-4763
Susan Q LangSchool of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
K N HoukDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8387-5261
Neal K DevarajDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. ndevaraj@ucsd.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8033-9973
University of California San Diego · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of South Carolina · US

Funding

Amplifying PET Imaging Signals for In Vivo Detection of Pancreatic Beta-cellsDP2DK111801 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI DEVARAJ, NEAL KRISHNA · 2016 to 2018
$2.0M
Bioorthogonal CycloadditionsR01GM109078 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI HOUK, KENDALL N · 2015 to 2018
$1.1M
NIDDK NIH HHS DP2 DK111801NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM109078
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

All living organisms synthesize phospholipids as the primary constituent of their cell membranes. Enzymatic synthesis of diacylphospholipids requires preexisting membrane-embedded enzymes. This limitation has led to models of early life in which the first cells used simpler types of membrane building blocks and has hampered integration of phospholipid synthesis into artificial cells. Here we demonstrate an enzyme-free synthesis of natural diacylphospholipids by transacylation in water, which is enabled by a combination of ion pairing and self-assembly between lysophospholipids and acyl donors. A variety of membrane-forming cellular phospholipids have been obtained in high yields. Membrane formation takes place in water from natural alkaline sources such as soda lakes and hydrothermal oceanic vents. When formed vesicles are transferred to more acidic solutions, electrochemical proton gradients are spontaneously established and maintained. This high-yielding non-enzymatic synthesis of natural phospholipids in water opens up new routes for lipid synthesis in artificial cells and sheds light on the origin and evolution of cellular membranes.

Indexed as

AcylationArtificial CellsCell MembranePhospholipidsProtein BiosynthesisWaterPhospholipidsWater

Identifiers

PMID33046841
PMCPMC8849033
OpenAlexW3092625506

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.