Functional Hydrogen-Bonded Self-Sorting Networks

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In biology, multiple processes occur simultaneously to perform the functions necessary for life e.g. manufacture and destruction of cells. To do this, multicomponent architectures comprising several different components or building blocks (e.g. proteins) must assemble with exquisite control at the right time and in the right place. Such multiple component architectures may also need to disassemble and reassemble into new architectures with different function at another time. These systems can therefore be considered as networks that form different functional architectures in an environmentally responsive manner. What makes the assembly and function of such architectures possible is self-sorting - the ability of one component to recognise its correct partner component(s) in the presence of many others. Synthetic chemistry is not yet capable of mimicking functional self-sorting networks. This research will address this challenge and develop the first non-natural (synthetic) functional self-sorting networks. We will use patterns of hydrogen-bonding motifs (HBMs), which mimic the DNA base pairs used to store genetic information, to construct self-sorting networks. We will then use these HBMS to control a series of catalytic and iterative synthetic chemistry processes. In the long term such methods could be used to prepare industrially important fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals in a similar manner to assembly lines used in modern manufacturing, offering advantages in complexity and efficiency.