A transient self-assembling self-replicator
Developing physical models of complex dynamic systems showing emergent behaviour is key to informing on persistence and replication in biology, how living matter emerges from chemistry, and how to design systems with new properties. Herein we report a fully synthetic small molecule system in which a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2018
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| _version_ | 1797063341478248448 |
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| author | Colomer, I Morrow, S Fletcher, S |
| author_facet | Colomer, I Morrow, S Fletcher, S |
| author_sort | Colomer, I |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Developing physical models of complex dynamic systems showing emergent behaviour is key to informing on persistence and replication in biology, how living matter emerges from chemistry, and how to design systems with new properties. Herein we report a fully synthetic small molecule system in which a surfactant replicator is formed from two phase-separated reactants using an alkene metathesis catalyst. The replicator self-assembles into aggregates, which catalyse their own formation, and is thermodynamically unstable. Rather than replicating until the reactants are fully consumed, the metastable replicator is depleted in a second metathesis reaction, and closed system equilibrium is eventually reached. Mechanistic experiments suggest phase separation is responsible for both replicator formation and destruction |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:58:27Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:3a0e3616-c904-4e83-8ab2-3b00c89624e1 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T20:58:27Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:3a0e3616-c904-4e83-8ab2-3b00c89624e12022-03-26T13:59:14ZA transient self-assembling self-replicatorJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:3a0e3616-c904-4e83-8ab2-3b00c89624e1Symplectic Elements at OxfordNature Publishing Group2018Colomer, IMorrow, SFletcher, SDeveloping physical models of complex dynamic systems showing emergent behaviour is key to informing on persistence and replication in biology, how living matter emerges from chemistry, and how to design systems with new properties. Herein we report a fully synthetic small molecule system in which a surfactant replicator is formed from two phase-separated reactants using an alkene metathesis catalyst. The replicator self-assembles into aggregates, which catalyse their own formation, and is thermodynamically unstable. Rather than replicating until the reactants are fully consumed, the metastable replicator is depleted in a second metathesis reaction, and closed system equilibrium is eventually reached. Mechanistic experiments suggest phase separation is responsible for both replicator formation and destruction |
| spellingShingle | Colomer, I Morrow, S Fletcher, S A transient self-assembling self-replicator |
| title | A transient self-assembling self-replicator |
| title_full | A transient self-assembling self-replicator |
| title_fullStr | A transient self-assembling self-replicator |
| title_full_unstemmed | A transient self-assembling self-replicator |
| title_short | A transient self-assembling self-replicator |
| title_sort | transient self assembling self replicator |
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