Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40834351›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Chemical Society2025

Engineering Motile Coacervate Droplets via Nanomotor Stabilization.

Siwen Sun, Jianhong Wang, Yudong Li, Alexander B Cook, Bingbing Sun, Sebastian Novosedlik, Lars J M M Paffen, Sander G A M Huisman, Lou M V Raeven, Alexander D Fusi and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Patchy Membrane-Directed Multiphase Complex Coacervation.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Let There be Light! Light as an Engine and Regulator in Synthetic Cells.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Siwen SunBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Jianhong WangBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Yudong LiBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.ORCID 0009-0006-9140-5733
Alexander B CookBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-5005-1039
Bingbing SunBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Sebastian NovosedlikBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Lars J M M PaffenBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.ORCID 0009-0002-0218-6403
Sander G A M HuismanBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Lou M V RaevenBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Alexander D FusiBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Yunqi GuoState Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
Loai K E A AbdelmohsenBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-0094-1893
Shukun LiBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Tania Patiño PadialBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-9979-7926
Jan C M van HestBio-Organic Chemistry, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering & Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-7973-2404

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Coacervate-based artificial cells have gained significant attraction in synthetic biology for their ability to mimic life-like functions such as compartmentalization, selective molecular uptake, and the hosting of biochemical reactions. However, the incorporation of motility, a key feature of natural cells, remains underexplored. This is mainly caused by the dynamic character of coacervates, which hampers their stability and limits control over functional motile components within the structure. In this contribution, we have been able to address this gap by physically anchoring gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-coated nanomotors at the coacervate interface in combination with a terpolymer membrane. The positively charged coacervates promoted the assembly of negatively charged nanomotors on their surfaces via electrostatic interactions. By costabilizing the coacervates with a terpolymer membrane, patches of nanomotors were firmly immobilized on the coacervates' surface and the stability of coacervates was preserved during motion performance. The distribution of nanomotors shifted from spotted distribution, patchy distribution, to almost full coverage upon increasing nanomotors concentration. Optimal motile behavior was found when achieving a patchy coverage of nanomotors at the interface, which enabled the system to become a light-driven micromotor platform through the surface plasmon thermal effect of the AuNPs. Remarkably, the motion dynamics of these coacervate droplets could be modulated by tuning nanomotors' density on the surface, coacervates' size, and laser light intensity. This study provides a first example of a coacervate system, which is stabilized by a combination of nanoparticles and a terpolymer membrane, of which their motility is effectively transferred to the artificial cell structure.

Indexed as

Artificial CellsCell MovementGoldMetal NanoparticlesPolymersBioengineeringStatic ElectricityGoldPolymers

Identifiers

PMID40834351
PMCPMC12412170

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.