Minimal artificial cells (MACs) are self-assembled chemical systems able to mimic the
behavior of living cells at a minimal level, ie to exhibit self-maintenance, self-reproduction …

Potential constraints on protocell size are developed from simple entropic considerations. To
do that, two new different indexes as measures of their structural and dynamic order were …

The construction of synthetic cells of minimal complexity is today one of the most attractive
and challenging goals in synthetic biology. Synthetic cells are assembled by combining the …

This paper is a theoretical attempt to gain insight into the problem of how self-assembling
vesicles (closed bilayer structures) could progressively turn into minimal self-producing and …

Over recent years, the investigation of protocells (here intended either as primitive cell
models, either as synthetic cell-like systems of minimal complexity) has gained prominence …

Synthetic or semi-synthetic minimal cells are those cell-like artificial compartments that are
based on the encapsulation of molecules inside lipid vesicles (liposomes). Synthetic cells …

In previous works we have explored the dynamics of chemically reacting proto-cellular
systems, under different experimental conditions and kinetic parameters, by means of our …

Protocells are supposed to have played a key role in the self-organizing processes leading
to the emergence of life. Existing models either (i) describe protocell architecture and …

In this paper, we apply a recently developed stochastic simulation platform to investigate the
dynamic behaviour of minimal 'self-(re-) producing'cellular systems. In particular, we study a …

In this chapter we describe the concept of minimal living cells, defined as synthetic or semi-
synthetic cells having the minimal and sufficient number of components to be endowed with …