An artificial cell, synthetic cell or minimal cell is an engineered particle that mimics one or many functions of a biological cell. Often, artificial cells are biological or polymeric membranes which enclose biologically active materials. As such, liposomes, polymersomes, nanoparticles, microcapsules and a number of other particles can qualify as artificial cells.

The terms "artificial cell" and "synthetic cell" are used in a variety of different fields and can have different meanings, as it is also reflected in the different sections of this article. Some stricter definitions are based on the assumption that the term "cell" directly relates to biological cells and that these structures therefore have to be alive (or part of a living organism) and, further, that the term "artificial" implies that these structures are artificially built from the bottom-up, i.e. from basic components. As such, in the area of synthetic biology, an artificial cell can be understood as a completely synthetically made cell that can capture energy, maintain ion gradients, contain macromolecules as well as store information and have the ability to replicate. This kind of artificial cell has not yet been made.

However, in other cases, the term "artificial" does not imply that the entire structure is man-made, but instead, it can refer to the idea that certain functions or structures of biological cells can be modified, simplified, replaced or supplemented with a synthetic entity.

In other fields, the term "artificial cell" can refer to any compartment that somewhat resembles a biological cell in size or structure, but is synthetically made, or even fully made from non-biological components. The term "artificial cell" is also used for structures with direct applications such as compartments for drug delivery. Micro-encapsulation allows for metabolism within the membrane, exchange of small molecules and prevention of passage of large substances across it. The main advantages of encapsulation include improved mimicry in the body, increased solubility of the cargo and decreased immune responses. Notably, artificial cells have been clinically successful in hemoperfusion.

The German pathologist Rudolf Virchow brought forward the idea that not only does life arise from cells, but every cell comes from another cell; "Omnis cellula e cellula". Until now, most attempts to create an artificial cell have engineered modules that can mimic certain functions of living cells. Advances in cell-free transcription and translation reactions allow the expression of many genes as well as interdependent genetic and metabolic networks, but these efforts are still far from producing a fully operational cell.

A bottom-up approach to build an artificial cell would involve creating a protocell de novo, entirely from non-living materials. As the term "cell" implies, one prerequisite is the generation of some sort of compartment that defines an individual, cellular unit. Phospholipid membranes are an obvious choice as compartmentalizing boundaries, as they act as selective barriers in all living biological cells. Scientists can encapsulate biomolecules in cell-sized phospholipid vesicles and by doing so, observe these molecules to act similarly as in biological cells and thereby recreate certain cell functions. In a similar way, functional biological building blocks can be encapsulated in these lipid compartments to achieve the synthesis of (however rudimentary) artificial cells.

In addition to lipid-based structures, membraneless compartments have been engineered using liquid-liquid phase separation of RNAs, enabling spatial organization in prokaryotic cells similar to eukaryotic organelles. PandaPure technology utilizes addressable phase-separated RNA condensates to create synthetic organelles in bacterial cells, allowing for the simultaneous expression and purification of recombinant proteins through biomimetic sorting mechanisms that bypass conventional purification methods.

It is proposed to create a phospholipid bilayer vesicle with DNA capable of self-reproducing using synthetic genetic information. The three primary elements of such artificial cells are the formation of a lipid membrane, DNA and RNA replication through a template process and the harvesting of chemical energy for active transport across the membrane. The main hurdles foreseen and encountered with this proposed protocell are the creation of a minimal synthetic DNA that holds all sufficient information for life, and the reproduction of non-genetic components that are integral in cell development such as molecular self-organization. However, it is hoped that this kind of bottom-up approach would provide insight into the fundamental questions of organizations at the cellular level and the origins of biological life. So far, no completely artificial cell capable of self-reproduction has been synthesized using the molecules of life, and this objective is still in a distant future although various groups are currently working towards this goal.