Identification of a Biomimetic Membrane Forming Mechanism in Extra-Terrestrial Environments

Cell membranes are complex structures that are robust enough to withstand changes in temperature and pressure, yet are stable and flexible enough to cope with a vast library of cellular processes. However, the mild conditions on Earth - conditions where water is liquid and membranes can be thermally stable - are famously scarce in the vastness of space. Recent data collected by the Cassini-Huygens probe, and subsequently studied by computer modelling has shown that some nitrogen-containing “tholin” molecules may be able to spontaneously form membrane-like structures in the cold liquid methane lakes on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. In this experiment we will recreate this atmosphere at ISIS by cooling a tholin solution in supercritical methane to cryogenic temperatures, and probing the behaviour of these systems using neutron scattering.

细胞膜是一类复杂的结构，具备足够强度以抵御温度与压力变化，同时兼具稳定性与柔韧性，可适配海量的细胞生理活动过程。然而，地球表面的温和环境——即水呈液态且细胞膜可保持热稳定的环境——在广袤宇宙中极为罕见，这一点广为人知。卡西尼-惠更斯号探测器（Cassini-Huygens probe）采集的最新数据，经计算机建模后续研究后证实：部分含氮“索林（tholin）”分子可在土星卫星土卫六（Titan）的低温液态甲烷湖泊中，自发形成类细胞膜结构。本实验将在ISIS装置中复现该类环境：将溶解于超临界甲烷的索林溶液冷却至极低温，并通过中子散射技术探测该体系的行为特性。