Sprecher
Beschreibung
Molecular self-assembly is when molecules combine into superstructures held together through non-covalent interactions. Over the last decades, supramolecular chemists have perfected this art, and we can now create Gigadalton structures in which each atom is placed with angstrom precision. More importantly, the unique properties of the emerging assemblies have found their way into everyday life, like, for example, the liquid crystals in our displays. Nevertheless, we are entirely overshadowed by biology when it comes to assembly with molecular building blocks. Indeed, the biological cell has the same molecular toolbox for creating structures; it also uses non-covalent interactions to hold molecules together. Biology uses another trick. Biological structures are governed not only by non-covalent interactions but also by reactions forming covalent ones. Arguably, molecular self-assembly offers the structures; chemical reactions govern the dynamics and functions of these structures. Biological structures are sustained and regulated in the non-equilibrium regime through chemical reaction cycles that convert energy. The implications, rules, and mechanisms there are poorly understood.
In this lecture, I will discuss my team’s effort to elucidate the rules of non-equilibrium self-assembly fueled by chemical reactions. Next, I will describe a simple yet versatile chemical reaction cycle that can be coupled to self-assembly to create chemically fueled assemblies. Finally, I will highlight chemically fueled droplets that can be created and our pathway towards the synthesis of life. We aim to understand the fundamental mechanisms of the properties we typically associate with life with these droplets. Mechanisms like compartmentalization, division, and evolution.
