{"id":106554,"date":"2026-03-30T15:01:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T20:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=106554"},"modified":"2026-03-30T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T20:40:00","slug":"northwestern-researchers-explore-artificial-cells-as-new-frontier-in-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/northwestern-researchers-explore-artificial-cells-as-new-frontier-in-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwestern researchers explore artificial cells as new frontier in medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Emma Henry<\/span><\/b>
\n<\/span>Medill Reports<\/i><\/p>\n

At Northwestern University\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Center for Synthetic Biology<\/span><\/a>, scientists are re-engineering one of life\u2019s most fundamental building blocks: the cell. Instead of relying solely on living cells, researchers are experimenting with artificial ones, allowing scientists to study the potential for these designed biological systems to perform specific tasks. While everyday applications are years away, this ongoing research could one day transform the way scientists detect disease and deliver drugs to the immune system. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Artificial cells look much like regular, living cells, but they allow scientists to program their responses and activities. Unlike living cells that can respond in unexpected ways, these artificial cells contain limited biological machinery, allowing researchers to test a single function without the complexity of living organisms. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Northwestern professors Neha Kamat and Danielle Tullman-Ercek, a co-director of the CSB, said their artificial cell research could create new therapies or testing mechanisms for disease.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0at an exciting point for artificial cell work because a lot of people have grown frustrated with biological cells.\u00a0You have to keep them alive, and there are a lot of safety and security concerns about using them in different places,\u201d Kamat said.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s interest in thinking about how we can port those lifelike functions into different forms and new environments.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Synthetic biology blends principles of engineering and biology to design or modify organisms for new, more useful applications. At the CSB, this has meant developing biosensors to detect contaminants in water, researching sustainable biochemical production, such as using <\/span>Clostridium\u00a0autoethanogenum<\/span><\/i>, a bacterium that naturally transforms carbon monoxide into ethanol, to minimize reliance on fossil fuels. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Artificial cells are less durable than living cells, said Kamat, typically lasting hours rather than days. That shorter longevity presents challenges but also advantages, Tullman-Ercek said, including greater control of their movement and function and a reduced risk of unintended evolution.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cArtificial cells\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0be programmed to grow and divide.\u00a0They\u2019ll\u00a0be programmed just to do the job,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This simplicity makes them particularly appealing for medical applications.\u00a0In the future,\u00a0they could\u00a0be used\u00a0as\u00a0biosensors capable of detecting chemical signals\u00a0in the body. In practice, this could mean injecting artificial cells that act like\u00a0diagnostic devices,\u00a0circulating through the\u00a0body,\u00a0and recording biological signals.\u00a0Patients could then take\u00a0at-home\u00a0tests, such as a urine sample, to reveal what the cells detected,\u00a0like\u00a0cancer proteins\u00a0or\u00a0inflammation markers\u00a0often associated with heart attacks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifth-year Ph.D.\u00a0candidate Mary Kelly, a student in Kamat\u2019s lab,\u00a0said\u00a0biosensing could \u201cenable more accessible, continuous and personalized health sensing technologies.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Researcher
Dr. Neha Kamat is one of the core faculty at the CSB. Her lab studies how to build artificial cells and biosensors. (Photo courtesy of Center for Synthetic Biology)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Artificial cells could one day be designed to carry vaccines or medications and release them when specific conditions are met. Unlike traditional delivery systems, these structures could make decisions based on environmental cues, like signals from the immune system, allowing for more precise treatment of chronic illnesses. <\/span>Tullman-Ercek describes this mechanism as similar to devices used to help diabetics that can sense insulin levels and deliver medication only when needed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kamat said another\u00a0possible application\u00a0beyond internal therapies\u00a0is\u00a0\u201csmart\u201d bandages\u00a0embedded with artificial cells that could\u00a0monitor\u00a0the stages\u00a0of wound healing\u00a0and\u00a0tailor care as\u00a0needed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Artificial cell applications could also address the issue of cost in modern medicine, Tullman-Ercek said. Many advanced therapies for chronic illnesses are biologically based, which makes them expensive to produce and distribute. Synthetic alternatives could offer more accessible options with similar results, she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge now is figuring out how to direct cells to complete\u00a0these\u00a0applications practically.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re like if you took a car and you stripped it apart and put together a go-kart,\u201d\u00a0Kamat said. \u201cYou still need a driver, and we haven\u2019t figured out how to put the driver in the car yet.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Artificial cells present other hurdles as well.\u00a0They are foreign to the body,\u00a0so\u00a0the\u00a0immune system may remove them before the cells complete their intended function. Scientists are also thinking about unintended consequences,\u00a0including the possibility of making them too lifelike.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe continuously think about the broader societal impacts of the systems we develop. At present, artificial cell technologies are still far from truly mimicking living systems,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cHowever, as the field advances, thoughtful regulation and responsible innovation will be essential to ensure these technologies are developed and applied safely and ethically.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A large part of the gradual nature of this research is to account for ethical implications. Kamat describes the work as \u201cslow progress\u00a0\u2026\u00a0but exciting progress.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than\u00a0following\u00a0a clear roadmap, progress often involves\u00a0failure and reassessment, a conscious effort to balance scientific innovation with responsibility. For Tullman-Ercek, this requires\u00a0a different way\u00a0of thinking, often from scientists and non-scientists alike \u2013 one that blends scientific\u00a0expertise\u00a0with imagination.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I was creative, I don\u2019t produce works of art, but I do produce solutions and that takes creativity too,\u201d Tullman-Ercek said. \u201cWe’re trying to learn things that no one has ever learned before, and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0hard. Hopefully, people are inspired to solve these problems.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emma Henry is a health,\u00a0environment\u00a0and science specialization graduate student at Medill.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emma Henry Medill Reports At Northwestern University\u2019s\u00a0Center for Synthetic Biology, scientists are re-engineering one of life\u2019s most fundamental building blocks: the cell. Instead of relying solely on living cells, researchers are experimenting with artificial ones, allowing scientists to study the potential for these designed biological systems to perform specific tasks. While everyday applications are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1040,"featured_media":106557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5543,5544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-msj26","category-winter-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nNorthwestern researchers explore artificial cells as new frontier in medicine - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/northwestern-researchers-explore-artificial-cells-as-new-frontier-in-medicine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northwestern researchers explore artificial cells as new frontier in medicine - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Emma Henry Medill Reports At Northwestern University\u2019s\u00a0Center for Synthetic Biology, scientists are re-engineering one of life\u2019s most fundamental building blocks: the cell. Instead of relying solely on living cells, researchers are experimenting with artificial ones, allowing scientists to study the potential for these designed biological systems to perform specific tasks. 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