Researchers have succeeded in building protein gates for artificial nano-vesicles that become transparent only under specific conditions. The gate responds to certain pH values, triggering a reaction and releasing active agents at the desired location.

Natural channel proteins are integrated into artificial membranes to facilitate the transport of ions and molecules. Researchers have now been able to measure the movement of these channel proteins for the first time. They move up to ten times slower than in their natural environment, namely the cell membrane. These study results may prove useful to the ongoing development of new applications such as nanoreactors and artificial organelles.