Welcome to the Christophe Danelon group in the Department of Bionanoscience at the Kavli Institute of NanoScience at Delft University of Technology.
RESEARCH FOCUS – Our group is engaged in the long-term effort to build a synthetic cell using a bottom-up biology approach. The core architecture of our minimal cell model consists of a cell-free gene expression system (called PURE system) encapsulated inside a lipid vesicle compartment (called liposome). Using in-liposome synthesis of proteins from DNA templates, we aim to reconstitute four essential cellular modules:
- DNA replication
- Vesicle growth through lipid biosynthesis
- Liposome division
- Biogenesis of the transcription-translation machinery
Our lab is also interested in origins of life questions, particularly on the emergence of RNA protocell models and on the influence of space radiation on prebiotic self-assembly processes (EXOcube programme).
FUNDING
