Themed collection Systems Chemistry

Investigating mixtures of molecules that exhibit emergent properties – this themed issue includes studies from all aspects of systems chemistry. Our guest editors, Douglas Philp, Sijbren Otto and Bartosz Grzybowski have gathered a collection of papers to demonstrate the importance of this emerging field of research.

We review recent work on a variety of systems, from the nanometre to the centimetre scale, including microemulsions, microfluidic droplet arrays, gels and flow reactors, in which chemical oscillators interact to generate novel spatiotemporal patterns and/or mechanical motion.

Membranes of artificial vesicles may act as reaction promoters and regulators.

Fluxes of energy through cascades of reaction–diffusion cycles can sustain matter fluxes between spatially and chemically segregated zones.

The implementation of dynamic combinatorial chemistry enables identification of multi-point binding ligands and receptors of biomolecules by a one-pot screening of secondary interactions.

A bistable switch from a low pH (unreacted “off”) state to a high pH (reacted “on”) state was obtained in enzyme-loaded gel beads in response to supra-threshold substrate concentrations.

Four acid-catalysed dehydration reactions can proceed in one pot, simultaneously and without interference, to yield one imine, one acetal (or boronic ester), one ester and one alkene, even though many other cross-products could be conceived.

The transmission of a protocell catalytic function during self-replication was demonstrated using a glass microsphere-supported protocell design.

We demonstrated the one-pot disassembly of self-propagating molecular assemblies (SPMAs) by ligand exchange and the subsequent covalent binding of the molecular components to other surfaces.

Monte Carlo simulations reveal the surface-confined self-assembly of simple organic ligands (orange) and metal atoms (blue) into hierarchical fractal structures resembling the Sierpiński triangle.

Amphiphilic peptide possessing non-natural aromatic groups forms fibrils consisting long range π-stacking interactions. Being similar to previously studied replicator the peptide is suggested as future component in functional self-synthesizing materials.

The interaction of an autocatalytic reaction with a fast precipitation reaction produces a permanent pattern with precipitate-free zones.

We report on a supramolecular self-assembly system that displays coupled light switching, biocatalytic condensation/hydrolysis and gelation.

Cooperative supramolecular interactions induce the formation of a major constitution from topologically diverse dynamic combinatorial libraries of pseudopeptides in aqueous solution.

In the calcium-oxalate system fast kinetics with flow leads to the enrichment of the thermodynamically unstable dihydrate crystalline form.

Calcium waves and patterns have been observed in the bromate–sulfite–ferrocyanide–CaEDTA reaction–diffusion system, where pH-oscillations drive binding and release of calcium ions.

With an open driven system, the chemical network can be controlled to new nonequilibrium steady states.

A silver-catalyzed dynamic azomethine ylide system was kinetically resolved in a tandem cycloaddition process, yielding an exclusive pyrrolidine product.

Although usually considered to be harmful in peptide couplings, 5(4H)-oxazolones could also contribute to chiral enhancement in racemic mixtures.

“Metal-driven” selection between finite mononuclear and polymeric metallosupramolecular species can be quantitatively achieved.