# Mechanical Energy Drives Dissipative Self-Assembly of Nanocoacervates into Vesicles with Cell-like Properties

## TL;DR

This paper shows how mechanical energy can drive the self-assembly of nanoscale vesicles that behave like cells, offering new possibilities for creating life-like materials.

## Contribution

The paper introduces mechanical energy as a novel driver for dissipative self-assembly of nanocoacervates into cell-like vesicles.

## Key findings

- Mechanical energy creates micrometrical vesicles with a half-life of about 2 days.
- The vesicles exhibit cell-like properties such as selective molecular uptake and catalytic functionality.
- Mechanical energy can drive the evolution of vesicle populations into higher-order structures with enhanced capabilities.

## Abstract

Dissipative self-assembly, which relies on continuous
energy input
to form and sustain functional structures, underpins the adaptive
behaviors of biological systems and is essential for creating synthetic
materials with life-like properties. While chemical, thermal, photonic,
or electrical energy sources have been used for dissipative self-assembly
of nanostructures, this work pioneers mechanical energy as a novel
driver to create dissipative polyelectrolyte micrometrical vesicles,
with a half-life of ca. 2 days that exhibit cell-like properties such
as selective molecular uptake and catalytic functionality. Our strategy
works with different polyelectrolyte systems, including DNA and peptides,
suggesting relevance to natural systems and the origins of life. Finally,
we demonstrate that mechanical energy can also drive the evolution
of distinct dissipative vesicle populations into a single, higher-order
population with advanced compartmentalization and enhanced synthetic
capabilities. Our work establishes mechanical energy as a key driver
of dissipative self-assembly, with implications for life-like materials
engineering, biotechnology, and microreactor design.