scholarly journals The Informational Substrate of Chemical Evolution: Implications for Abiogenesis

Life ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
de la Escosura

A key aspect of biological evolution is the capacity of living systems to process information, coded in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and used to direct how the cell works. The overall picture that emerges today from fields such as developmental, synthetic, and systems biology indicates that information processing in cells occurs through a hierarchy of genes regulating the activity of other genes through complex metabolic networks. There is an implicit semiotic character in this way of dealing with information, based on functional molecules that act as signs to achieve self-regulation of the whole network. In contrast to cells, chemical systems are not thought of being able to process information, yet they must have preceded biological organisms, and evolved into them. Hence, there must have been prebiotic molecular assemblies that could somehow process information, in order to regulate their own constituent reactions and supramolecular organization processes. The purpose of this essay is then to reflect about the distinctive features of information in living and non-living matter, and on how the capacity of biological organisms for information processing was possibly rooted in a particular type of chemical systems (here referred to as autonomous chemical systems), which could self-sustain and reproduce through organizational closure of their molecular building blocks.

Author(s):  
Daniel Lambrecht ◽  
Eric Berquist

We present a first principles approach for decomposing molecular linear response properties into orthogonal (additive) plus non-orthogonal/cooperative contributions. This approach enables one to 1) identify the contributions of molecular building blocks like functional groups or monomer units to a given response property and 2) quantify cooperativity between these contributions. In analogy to the self consistent field method for molecular interactions, SCF(MI), we term our approach LR(MI). The theory, implementation and pilot data are described in detail in the manuscript and supporting information.


Polyhedron ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (15) ◽  
pp. 2550-2557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Suracka ◽  
Alina Bieńko ◽  
Jerzy Mroziński ◽  
Rafał Kruszyński ◽  
Dariusz Bieńko ◽  
...  

CrystEngComm ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 2384-2395
Author(s):  
Ivan A. Mezentsev-Cherkes ◽  
Tatiana A. Shestimerova ◽  
Aleksei V. Medved'ko ◽  
Mikhail A. Kalinin ◽  
Alexey N. Kuznetsov ◽  
...  

Adamantane-like divalent building blocks and iodide or polyiodide anions combine into supramolecular architectures with the help of various noncovalent forces ranging from strong hydrogen bonds to secondary and weak I⋯I interactions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luuk Kortekaas ◽  
Julian Simke ◽  
Niklas Arndt ◽  
Marcus Böckmann ◽  
Nikos Doltsinis ◽  
...  

Molecular photoswitches play a vital role in the development of responsive materials. These molecular building blocks are particularly attractive when multiple stimuli can be combined to bring about physical changes,...


2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-172
Author(s):  
Ivan P. Vaghely ◽  
Pierre-André Julien ◽  
André Cyr

Using grounded theory along with participant observation and interviews the authors explore how individuals in organizations process information. They build a model of human information processing which links the cognitivist-constructionist perspective to an algorithmic-heuristic continuum. They test this model using non-parametric procedures and find interesting results showing links to efficient information processing outcomes such as contributions to decision-making, knowledge-creation and innovation. They also identify some elements of best practice by efficient human information processing individuals whom they call the “information catalysts”.


2015 ◽  
Vol 03 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 1540004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xialu Wu ◽  
David J. Young ◽  
T. S. Andy Hor

As molecular synthesis advances, we are beginning to learn control of not only the chemical reactivity (and function) of molecules, but also of their interactions with other molecules. It is this basic idea that has led to the current explosion of supramolecular science and engineering. Parallel to this development, chemists have been actively pursuing the design of very large molecules using basic molecular building blocks. Herein, we review the general development of supramolecular chemistry and particularly of two new branches: supramolecular coordination complexes (SCCs) and metal organic frameworks (MOFs). These two fields are discussed in detail with typical examples to illustrate what is now possible and what challenges lie ahead for tomorrow's molecular artisans.


Author(s):  
Zhenpeng Yao ◽  
Benjamin Sanchez-Lengeling ◽  
N. Scott Bobbitt ◽  
Benjamin J. Bucior ◽  
Sai Govind Hari Kumar ◽  
...  

Reticular frameworks are crystalline porous materials that form <i>via</i> the self-assembly of molecular building blocks (<i>i.e.</i>, nodes and linkers) in different topologies. Many of them have high internal surface areas and other desirable properties for gas storage, separation, and other applications. The notable variety of the possible building blocks and the diverse ways they can be assembled endow reticular frameworks with a near-infinite combinatorial design space, making reticular chemistry both promising and challenging for prospective materials design. Here, we propose an automated nanoporous materials discovery platform powered by a supramolecular variational autoencoder (SmVAE) for the generative design of reticular materials with desired functions. We demonstrate the automated design process with a class of metal-organic framework (MOF) structures and the goal of separating CO<sub>2</sub> from natural gas or flue gas. Our model exhibits high fidelity in capturing structural features and reconstructing MOF structures. We show that the autoencoder has a promising optimization capability when jointly trained with multiple top adsorbent candidates identified for superior gas separation. MOFs discovered here are strongly competitive against some of the best-performing MOFs/zeolites ever reported. This platform lays the groundwork for the design of reticular frameworks for desired applications.


Author(s):  
A.V. Kovtun ◽  
◽  
S.A. Varenichenko ◽  
E.V. Zaliznaya ◽  
A.V. Mazepa ◽  
...  

We have proposed a method for the synthesis of previously unknown bromo xanthenes using the reagent PBr3/DMF as a rearrangement initiator. Bromo derivatives of xanthenes in the form of organic perchlorates were prepared by reacting the corresponding benzo(naphtho)dioxin-4(1)-ones with a three-fold excess of Vilsmeier-Haack PBr3/DMF reagent at 1100C for 2 hours, followed by the addition of sodium perchlorate. The conditions for the synthesis of formyl derivatives of xanthenes under conditions of acid hydrolysis were selected. The structure of the compounds was confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR spectral data and mass spectrometry. Preliminary studies showed that it is possible to selectively replace the dimethylamino group and the bromine atom with various nucleophiles in bromo derivatives of xanthenes, which opens up wide possibilities for the synthesis of low-molecular building blocks and dyes.


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