Center for Chemical Innovation: Center for Chemical Evolution

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With joint support from the Center for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Program in the Division of Chemistry at NSF and the Astrobiology Program at NASA, the Center for Chemical Evolution (CCE) will coordinate and support the highly collaborative research necessary to understand the chemical origins of biopolymers, which may represent a fundamental advance in the understanding of the chemical origins of life. In particular, CCE seeks to uncover how proto-biopolymers, i.e. the earliest polymers of life, could have spontaneously formed and initiated functional evolution. The work of the Center is divided into four research themes: 1) Proto-Nucleic Acids, 2) Proto-Polypeptides, 3) Proto-Polysaccharides, 4) Building Blocks and Alternative Environments. CCE aims to impact society by identifying the molecules and processes necessary for the formation of polymers with the ability to evolve function. Continued progress towards this goal will provide new methods for the design, development, and characterization of novel polymers, such as smart materials and therapeutic agents, which could result in economic impacts and improvement of the human condition. Enhancing the education and career development of students and young scientists involved with the Center and making positive impacts on the public's perception of chemistry are additional broad impacts to be realized through CCE educational efforts. In particular, CCE will develop a fully integrated research and educational program which includes a professional development seminar series, an annual symposium, and a highly interactive mentoring culture that fosters the development of students and postdocs into independent, interdisciplinary innovators and educators. CCE has also identified unique educational and public venues to work with children and young people to educate and excite them about chemistry. CCE will continue to work with artists to produce chemistry-relevant content for visual displays, short video animations, radio pieces to be aired on national public radio, and interactive performances to engage audiences of all ages and educational levels. CCE also plans to continue its recruiting efforts to underrepresented minority groups by collaborating with HBCUs, sponsoring research symposia at national diversity conferences, such as NOBCChE and SACNAS, and partnering with student organizations on full-day STEM events.The unifying scientific objective of CCE is to demonstrate that small molecules, within a model prebiotic environment, can self-assemble into polymers resembling extant biopolymers and undergo functional evolution. The four research themes of the CCE are: 1) Proto-nucleic acids - studying proto-nucleic acids that are "forward compatible" where sequence information can be maintained and transferred through gradual evolution to contemporary RNA; 2) Proto-polypeptides - exploring polyesters as possible precursors of polypeptides during prebiotic peptide synthesis; 3) Proto-polysaccharides - studying polysaccharide synthesis under plausible prebiotic conditions; and 4) Building Blocks and Alternative Environments - identifying plausible prebiotic reactions, mineral sources, mineral catalysts, and alternative milieus for other proto-biopolymer synthesis. Progress on these research themes is expected to lead to the discovery of molecules, reactions, and polymers with unique properties - properties that could find a variety of innovative applications in the areas of organic, polymer, supramolecular, and biomimetic chemistry. Defining the contents of a model prebiotic chemical inventory also leads to the development of new tools and approaches for dealing with complex chemical mixtures that are readily transferable to many other areas of pure and applied chemistry. Ultimately understanding the origin of biopolymers could represent a fundamental advance in our understanding of the chemical origins of life.