Harvesting energy through light and the transport of chemicals in synthetic cells

Cells in nature use light and chemicals to power complex reactions. This project focuses on exploring how living cells harvest and use energy, and how we can recreate these processes in vitro: we aim to mimic this in simplified, cell-like compartments in the form of droplets. Our main goal is to design micro-systems inspired by photosynthetic systems in which chemical reactions are controlled by light. Using microfluidics, we can precisely construct these tiny compartments and functionalize them with enzymes and other biological components with an increasing level of complexity. This approach will help us to understand how cells manage energy and may inspire new ways to integrate biological components for energy management in synthetic systems.