Inorganic–organic coprecipitation: spontaneous formation of enclosed and porous silica compartments with enriched biopolymers

Abstract

We show that it is possible to spontaneously form all-enclosed compartments with microporous shells and enriched biopolymers via simple coprecipitation of silica and biopolymers. The reaction involves mild conditions and tolerates the random mixing of multiple reagents. Such a synthetic advance points to a new direction for resolving the chicken-egg dilemma of how the early life forms were hosted: without a physical barrier it would be difficult to maintain organized reactions, but without organized reactions, it would be difficult to create a cell membrane. In our synthesis, the divalent cation Ca²⁺ plays a critical role in the co-precipitation and in creating hollow compartments after simple dilution with water. The precursor of silica, poly(silicic acid), is a negatively charged, cross-linked polymer. It could be co-precipitated with negatively charged biopolymers such as DNA and proteins, whereas the remaining silica precursor forms a conformal and microporous shell on the surface of the initial precipitate. After etching, the biopolymers are retained inside the hollow compartments. The fact that multiple favorable conditions are easily brought together in enclosed compartments opens new possibilities in theorizing the host of early life forms.