International Collaboration in Chemistry: A Systems Chemistry Approach to Self Assembly and Self Replication

Donna G.教授斯克里普斯研究所的Blackmond得到了化学系和国际科学与工程办公室的化学催化（CAT）计划的支持，致力于研究自组装和自复制的系统化学方法。 这项工作将与本L教授合作进行。荷兰格罗宁根大学的Feringa。 NSF将支持美国研究人员的研究，荷兰科学研究办公室将支持荷兰合作研究人员的研究。 本研究的目标是：（1）开发具有生物学意义的自催化有机反应，以Soai反应的化学为模型，该反应表现出自催化行为和手性放大，以及（2）开发结合联合收割机自组装和自催化以通过不对称自复制放大手性的超分子系统。如果成功，该项目将导致新的材料和设备，并将提供有关氨基酸和糖中同手性起源的新知识。了解活性催化剂物种如何在自催化系统中聚集和传播，最终可能会为地球上生命的起源提供线索。参与这项研究的学生将受益于与从事该项目的荷兰学生的密切互动，以及接触国际科学研究经验。

Professor Donna G. Blackmond of the Scripps Research Institute is supported by the Chemical Catalysis (CAT) Program in the Division of Chemistry and the Office of International Science and Engineering to work on a systems chemistry approach to self assembly and self replication. The work will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Ben L. Feringa of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. NSF will support the research of the US-based investigators and the Netherlands Office for Scientific Research will support the research of the collaborating Dutch investigators. The objectives of the proposed research are: (1) to develop autocatalytic organic reactions of biological significance, taking as a model the chemistry of the Soai reaction, which exhibits autocatalytic behavior and amplification of chirality, and (2) to develop supramolecular systems that combine self-assembly and autocatalysis to amplify chirality through asymmetric self-replication. If successful, the project will lead to new materials and devices and will provide new knowledge on the origin of homochirality in amino acids and sugars. Understanding how the active catalyst species assembles and propagates in autocatalytic systems may eventually provide clues on the origin of life on earth. The students involved in this research will benefit from close interaction with Dutch students working on the project and from exposure to an international scientific research experience.