SIGSYNCELL is a European Doctoral Network aiming to develop synthetic cells as systems having the key characteristic function of living systems: the capacity to interact with their environment.

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This project explores how giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) can be engineered as cell-mimetic systems for building autonomous and reconfigurable microscale architectures. GUVs mimic biological membranes, showing flexibility, selective permeability, and the ability to host active materials, making them promising platforms for artificial cells. We develop programmable vesicles with controlled composition and mechanics using microfluidic and electroformation techniques. By applying electric fields, we study how vesicles deform, electroporate, or rupture, aiming to uncover the physical rules that govern membrane stability and layer “peeling” from multilamellar to unilamellar states.