Valletti, Nadia and Albanese, Paola and Itatani, Masaki and Német, Norbert and Schuszter, Gábor and Elejalde-Cadena, Nerith Rocio and Lupetti, Pietro and Paccagnini, Eugenio and Taylor, Annette F. and Lagzi, István László and Rossi, Federico (2026) Bioinspired Synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles. ACS MATERIALS LETTERS. ISSN 2639-4979 (In Press)
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Abstract
The confined synthesis of functional nanomaterials within biomimetic compartments offers a strategy to address key limitations in biomedical applications, including stability, biocompatibility, and controlled encapsulation. Here, we report the in situ precipitation of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) within phospholipid giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). By encapsulating Zn2+ in the vesicle lumen and triggering crystallization through external addition of membrane-permeable 2-methylimidazole, we establish a bioinspired compartmentalized synthesis approach. Confocal and electron microscopy confirm nanoparticle formation and reveal strong interactions between the precipitated phase and the membrane, leading to poration and selective content release. Crystal-size analysis and comparison with bulk systems show that confinement and the lipid interface modulate nucleation and growth. These results identify GUVs as soft templates for localized nanomaterial synthesis and as modular platforms for drug delivery, bioresponsive systems, and synthetic cell design.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Funding Agency and Grant Number: Ministero dell'Universit e della Ricerca; Nemzeti Kutatsi, Fejlesztsi s Innovacis Alap [K138844, K146071]; NextGenerationEU [CUP B53D23013870006, CUP B63C22000610006, CUP B63C22000680007, ECS00000017]; Magyar Tudomnyos Akadmia [BO/00586/23/7] Funding text: Authors from the University of Siena acknowledge financial support under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.4, funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU - Project PNRR CN3 'mRNA'- Spoke 5 - CUP B63C22000610006, and Investment 1.5 - Creation and reinforcement of an 'innovation ecosystem', construction of 'leader territoriali R&S'- Project THE (Tuscan Health Ecosystem)- Spoke 4 - Nanotechnologies for diagnosis and therapy - project code ECS00000017, CUP B63C22000680007. F.R., N.V., and P.A. acknowledge financial support under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.1, Call for tender no. 104, published on February 2, 2022, by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU - Project Title Smart Artificial Cells for Health Applications - CUP B53D23013870006 grant assignment decree no. 958, adopted on June 30, 2023, by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR). G.S. thanks the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (K138844) and the Bolyai Janos research fellowship (BO/00586/23/7). I.L. thanks the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network and the National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary (K146071). |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | SIZE; MORPHOLOGY; precipitation; nanoparticle; pore formation; ZIF-8; |
| Subjects: | Q Science / természettudomány > QC Physics / fizika > QC173.4 Material science / anyagtudomány |
| SWORD Depositor: | MTMT SWORD |
| Depositing User: | MTMT SWORD |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Sep 2026 14:39 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Sep 2026 14:39 |
| URI: | https://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/245473 |
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