Building artificial life: synthetic cells and their applications

Synthetic cells are simplified, cell-like systems assembled from non-living components that provide a powerful platform to investigate the fundamental principles of living matter. By combining compartmentalisation, chemical activity, and controlled transport processes, they can be used to reconstruct key cellular functions within a minimal, experimentally accessible framework. In this review, we focus on bottom-up approaches based on lipid vesicles, highlighting how membrane mechanics, reaction networks, and environmental interactions give rise to life-like behaviours. We discuss advances in the reconstitution of core functions, with particular emphasis on self-division and communication, and how these emerge from the interplay between physical constraints and chemical dynamics. We further examine how increasing structural complexity, including multicompartment architectures and hybrid systems, supports higher levels of organisation. Finally, we address the role of synthetic cells in origin-of-life studies and their potential as programmable platforms for biomedical applications, with a focus on controlled drug delivery.