Image-based phenotypic sorting of synthetic cells
Marijn van den Brink, Marlena Stam, Nico J. Claassens, Christophe Danelon · 2026
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Description
Marijn van den Brink and colleagues describe in 2026 a way to sort artificial cells by how they look and behave, not just by brightness. Fat bubbles carrying gene programs form the testbed for building minimal living cells from parts. Each bubble holds a different gene mix, so crowds of bubbles vary widely in form and action.
Automated microscopes film the bubbles while a neural network judges their images live. Bubbles can then be picked for glow strength, protein placement, membrane shape, or motion patterns, and later matched to their gene content. Multi-trait picking widens the traits that lab evolution can improve at once. Faster cycles could speed the search for cell-like functions that arise from simple parts.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Marijn van den Brink, Marlena Stam, Nico J. Claassens, Christophe Danelon |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 54 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |