Case studies Chemical Engineering and Chemistry 2015-2021

3 Appendix B: Case studies B.1. ARTIFICIAL CELLS Context One of the main challenges in medicine is to ensure that drugs reach the right target in the body and can perform their action without causing any side effects. This challenge has led to the development of the field of nanomedicine in which nanoparticles are used as delivery systems. However, until now,most nanomedicines still have not had the desired level of precision and also lack the ability to deliver drugs in a controlled and responsive manner based on interactions with the diseased tissue. To achieve this higher level of precision, we not only need to develop particles with greater affinity for certain cell types but also need to create particles that are adaptive to their environment and operate in a life-like manner. This challenge can be approached by combining nanomedicine with artificial cell research; the latter field of science is focused on building particles via a bottom-up approach with features that are reminiscent of living cells. This not only leads to a better understanding of how living cells operate but also allows us to construct particles that are able to interact effectively with living cells. Our research Introduction Jan van Hest, head of the Bio-Organic Chemistry group, is a pioneer in the area of artificial cells and organelles, the organs of the cell. Van Hest and his team design and produce new materials and catalytic processes that combine artificially-produced molecules with biological components. These materials are used in biocatalysis and for biomedical applications such as drugdelivery.They are alsoworking on nanoreactors that can be deployed as artificial organelles in living cells to initiate reactions with enzymes. Van Hest is pioneering a new research field at the interface of polymer chemistry and biology. He was the first to produce polymersomes: empty spheres that can be filled, for example, with proteins or drugs and then inserted into a cell. With this technique, he succeeded in producing an artificial cell that simulates the complex behavior of a living cell. Van Hest also made polymer constructions that are similar to the cytoplasm in cells and managed to repair errors in biological cell processes using semipermeable spheres filled with proteins. Current research Spinoza laureate Jan van Hest and his group dream of producing completely artificial life: a system that can copy itself and adapt to changing conditions. The living cell can be regarded as the ultimate example of how molecular assembly leads to emergent behavior. One approach to unraveling how cellular complexity has evolved is to create artificial cells via a bottom-up molecular assembly approach. Artificial cells enable the investigation of biomolecular processes under highly controlled conditions. The information and insights that are subsequently obtained can then be translated to the field of active matter by endowing synthetic materials with life-like features.