Coacervate microdroplets, a protocell model in exploring the origin of life, have gained significant attention. Clay minerals, catalysts during the origin of life, are crucial in the chemical evolution of small molecules into biopolymers. However, our understanding of the relationship between clay minerals and the formation and evolution of protocells on early Earth remains limited. In this work, the nanoclay montmorillonite nanosheet (MMT-Na) was employed to investigate its interaction with coacervate microdroplets formed by oligolysine (K10) and adenine nucleoside triphosphate (ATP). As an anionic component, MMT-Na was noted to promote the formation of coacervate microdroplets. Furthermore, the efficiency of ssDNA enrichment and the degree of ssDNA hybridization within these microdroplets were significantly improved. By combining inorganic nanoclay with organic biopolymers, our work provides an efficient way to enrich genetic biomolecules in the primitive Earth environment and builds a nanoclay-based coacervate microdroplets, shedding new light on life’s origin and protocell evolution.

中文翻译：

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纳米粘土杂化凝聚微滴的界面结合机制用于可控构建原始细胞

凝聚微滴是一种探索生命起源的原始细胞模型，受到了广泛的关注。粘土矿物是生命起源过程中的催化剂，对于小分子化学演化为生物聚合物至关重要。然而，我们对粘土矿物与早期地球原始细胞的形成和演化之间关系的理解仍然有限。在这项工作中，采用纳米粘土蒙脱土纳米片（MMT-Na）研究其与寡聚赖氨酸（K10）和腺嘌呤核苷三磷酸（ATP）形成的凝聚微滴的相互作用。作为一种阴离子成分，MMT-Na 可促进凝聚微滴的形成。此外，这些微滴内单链DNA富集的效率和单链DNA杂交的程度也显着提高。通过将无机纳米粘土与有机生物聚合物相结合，我们的工作提供了一种在原始地球环境中富集遗传生物分子的有效方法，并构建了基于纳米粘土的凝聚微滴，为生命起源和原始细胞进化提供了新的线索。