Synthesizing proteins inside liposomes and other micro-compartments is today a well-established practice. However, the origin of this research is not distant in time, dating back to the 1999-2004 period, where the first successful attempts were published. Protein synthesis inside artificial compartments is now under strong expansion in the context of synthetic biology (in the “bottom up” approaches), and in particular it strongly contributes to the construction of artificial cell-like systems. These systems, often called “synthetic cells”, can be used to model cellular processes, including membrane-centred ones. They are very innovative models that complement traditional studies and promise future applications. This review does not discuss all current directions in synthetic cell research; in particular it does not include all kind of artificial compartments. Instead, it is uniquely dedicated to the analysis of historical and technical developments of protein synthesis inside liposomes, highlighting a selected list of open questions. One of the goals is remarking the importance of mastering liposome technology together to cell-free systems for the successful realization of this specific type of synthetic cells. At this aim, four currently employed protocols are compared and commented, with major emphasis on the droplet transfer method, which is attractive due to its simplicity and encapsulation efficiency.

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