Filling the gap between membrane and coacervate cell theories: a thermodynamic approach

Abstract

Two theories on cells are in dispute to day: one considering the membrane as an essential part in terms of compartmentalization and another in which lipid membranes are not necessary and cells can be treated as a colloidal system. The properties of water in restricted environments organized at the lipid interphase that may extend to cell interior can be a way to compatibilized both extreme and limited view of the membrane function in the cell context. In this view, the role of H-bonding networks in the propagation of events between membrane and cytoplasm is considered.