The development of programmable microscale materials with cell-like functions, dynamics and collective behaviour is an important milestone in systems chemistry, soft matter bioengineering and synthetic protobiology. Here, polymer/nucleotide coacervate micro-droplets are reconfigured into membrane-bounded polyoxometalate coacervate vesicles (PCVs) in the presence of a bio-inspired Ru-based polyoxometalate catalyst to produce synzyme protocells (Ru₄PCVs) with catalase-like activity. We exploit the synthetic protocells for the implementation of multi-compartmentalized cell-like models capable of collective synzyme-mediated buoyancy, parallel catalytic processing in individual horseradish peroxidase-containing Ru₄PCVs, and chemical signalling in distributed or encapsulated multi-catalytic protocell communities. Our results highlight a new type of catalytic micro-compartment with multi-functional activity and provide a step towards the development of protocell reaction networks.

A new method combining an interfacial strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition and post assembly deprotection (SPAAC-PAD) has been developed for the well-defined functionalization of small, water-soluble gold nanoparticles with oligopeptides.

The chemical structure and photoredox properties of carbon dots (CDs) are not yet fully understood. However, it has been reported that, by carefully choosing the starting materials and tuning their synthesis conditions, it is possible to obtain CDs with different chemical structures and therefore different photocatalytic performance. For this work, a family of different CDs was synthesized in Milli-Q water via a microwave-assisted protocol, using citric acid and urea as precursors. The syntheses were carried out at different times and temperatures to assess the impact of the synthetic parameters on the photocatalytic properties of the final materials. After extensive and accurate purification, the photocatalytic abilities of a selected subset of CDs were tested by performing a photocatalyzed atom transfer radical addition reaction. Among the tested CDs, the best performing ones were found to be those synthesized at the highest temperature, which were the most graphitic. A number of different characterization techniques were then used to evaluate the degree of graphitization of CDs and to elucidate the origin of their different photocatalytic performance.

A CNT–AuNP hybrid has been synthesized through the Michael addition reaction between thiol-functionalized single-wall CNT and small water-soluble Maleimide–AuNP. The resilience and stability of this hybrid nanosystem is ensured by a covalent bond linking the nanoparticle to the CNT and by the fact that the functionalization reaction involves the organic shell of the AuNP and not its metallic core.

Multiphase coacervate droplets produced by internalised aqueous two-phase separation are used for the spatially dependent chemical transfer of sugar molecules.