Entropy 2011, 13(2), 466-484; doi:10.3390/e13020466
Review

Primitive Membrane Formation, Characteristics and Roles in the Emergent Properties of a Protocell

Sarah Elizabeth Maureremail and Pierre-Alain Monnard* email
FLinT Center, Department for Physics and Chemistry, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 4230 Odense M, Denmark
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 23 December 2010; in revised form: 13 January 2011 / Accepted: 24 January 2011 / Published: 10 February 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emergence in Chemical Systems)
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Abstract: All contemporary living cells are composed of a collection of self-assembled molecular elements that by themselves are non-living but through the creation of a network exhibit the emergent properties of self-maintenance, self-reproduction, and evolution. This short review deals with the on-going research that aims at either understanding how life emerged on the early Earth or creating artificial cells assembled from a collection of small chemicals. In particular, this article focuses on the work carried out to investigate how self-assembled compartments, such as amphiphile and lipid vesicles, contribute to the emergent properties as part of a greater system.
Keywords: vesicles; liposomes; compartmentalization; protocell; artificial cells; membrane supported reaction networks

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Maurer, S.E.; Monnard, P.-A. Primitive Membrane Formation, Characteristics and Roles in the Emergent Properties of a Protocell. Entropy 2011, 13, 466-484.

AMA Style

Maurer SE, Monnard P-A. Primitive Membrane Formation, Characteristics and Roles in the Emergent Properties of a Protocell. Entropy. 2011; 13(2):466-484.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurer, Sarah Elizabeth; Monnard, Pierre-Alain. 2011. "Primitive Membrane Formation, Characteristics and Roles in the Emergent Properties of a Protocell." Entropy 13, no. 2: 466-484.

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