Symmetry breaking via amplifying autocatalysis probed by microflow engineering

对自催化反应中手性化学断裂的理解可能为了解生物同手性的起源和进化提供重要线索，并具有许多潜在的应用，从了解疾病途径到构建超分子组装。尽管在细心的批量实验辅助下，在机理反应模型方面取得了很大进展，但从未考虑过试剂混合和流动的影响，并且可能对反应种群结果产生重大影响。微流控反应器和新型均质策略的出现提供了一个独特的机会，以前所未有的可重复性和精细的流动控制来详细研究这种效应。因此，我们试图通过流动下时空反应演化的详细数值模拟来研究耐溶剂微器件中自催化Soai反应的对称性破缺。我们期望我们的高通量微流体方法，结合传统的批量实验和详细的建模，有助于阐明在没有手性对称性破坏源的情况下进行的Soai反应中同手性演变的机制。

The understanding of chiral chemistry breaking in autocatalytic reactions may hold important clues about the origin and evolution of biological homochirality and has numerous potential applications, ranging from the understanding of disease pathways to structuring supramolecular assemblies. Despite much progress in mechanistic reaction models assisted by careful batch experimentation, the effect of reagent mixing and flow has never been considered and may have a major impact on reaction population outcomes. The advent of microfluidic reactors and novel homogenization strategies provides a unique opportunity to study such effects in details with unprecedented reproducibility and exquisite flow control. We therefore seek to investigate symmetry breaking in the autocatalytic Soai reaction in solvent-resistant microdevices assisted by detailed numerical modelling of spatiotemporal reaction evolution under flow. We expect our high-throughput microfluidic approach, combined with conventional batch experimentation and detailed modelling to help elucidate the mechanisms underlying the evolution of homochirality in the Soai reaction carried out without a chiral symmetry-breaking source.