One way of making ATP requires:
- A membrane (would probably have to be a phospholipid bilayer)
- A difference in H+ chemical potential across the membrane
- ATP synthase anchored to the low-potential side of the membrane
- Some reasonable concentration of ADP on the low-potential side of the membrane
Now, I know ATP has a short half-life, but if we wanted to run some step of a biological process that requires ATP, would it be possible to create an artificial ATP synthesis "cell" that would convert ADP to ATP for use by enzymes in solution?
If not, then are those four steps sufficient? If so, then which step is the hard part? Thank you.