Systems Chemistry
“Systems chemistry is not a subfield, but rather a developmental stage of chemistry”
Dr. Ivica Cvrtila, PhD Thesis, University of Groningen, 2022.
Traditionally, chemists have been focusing on making compounds, such as a new drug or material of high purity & yield. Making or understanding collective behaviours of molecules is a new take on chemistry that is inspired from life – a chemical system of utmost complexity which requires to “observe and analyze” rather than “predict and control”, as chemists would usually do (Whitesides & Ismagilov, Science 1999, 284, 89).
We study behaviours that emerge from the collective interplay of different chemical constituents, via interactions (supramolecular assemblies) and interconversion (reaction networks). These are compartmentalization (formation of distinct chemical environments), self-replication (making copies of oneself), directionality in chemical flux & assembly growth and more.
Coacervates
Coacervates are microdroplets that form spontaneously in water, usually from the association of multicharged molecules (such as polymers) of opposite charge. They offer a more hydrophobic environment than bulk water and allow the partitioning of small organic molecules inside them. Currently, we are working on coacervates as tools to direct and control different aspects of synthetic chemical systems, with applications also in supramolecular chemistry & soft materials (check Guillermo’s home page for more).
Automation for systems chemistry
Systems chemistry is a discipline that needs a lot of preparative & analytical work in order to understand e. g. reaction networks. We are planning to build a robotic platform that automatically prepares solutions, stirs/heats reactions and analyses them (by chromatography & other techniques). The aim is to develop an automation infrastructure that can be used & adapted according to needs that arise, also for projects in collaboration and beyond systems chemistry, and to integrate AI tools that help with data treatment & experiment planning.
Publications
Check Yannick’s or Guillermo’s pages for more their detail on their work and their list of publications.