Cascading transformations within a dynamic self-assembled system
Author: ["Victoria E. Campbell","Xavier de Hatten","Nicolas Delsuc","Brice Kauffmann","Ivan Huc","Jonathan R. Nitschke"]
Publication: Nature Chemistry
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Abstract
Molecular subcomponents such as phosphate groups are often passed between biomolecules during complex signalling cascades, the flow of which define the motion of the machinery of life. Here, we show how an abiological system consisting of organic subcomponents knitted together by metal-ion coordination can respond to simple signals in complex ways. A CuI3 helicate transformed into its ZnII2CuI analogue following the addition of zinc(II), and the ejected copper(I) went on to induce the self-assembly of a CuI2 helicate from other free subcomponents present in solution. The addition of an additional subcomponent, 8-aminoquinoline, resulted in the formation of a third, more stable CuI3 helicate, requiring the destruction of both the ZnII2CuI and CuI2 helicates to scavenge sufficient CuI for the new structure. This system thus demonstrates two examples in which the application of one signal provokes two distinct responses involving the creation or destruction of complex assemblies as the system seeks thermodynamic equilibrium following perturbation. The addition of a single chemical signal can trigger multiple disassembly–reassembly events in a dynamic self-assembling system that is based on the formation and exchange of both imine and metal–ligand bonds. Different metal-helicate superstructures are either created or destroyed in response to the signal as the system seeks thermodynamic equilibrium following perturbation.
Cite this article
Campbell, V., de Hatten, X., Delsuc, N. et al. Cascading transformations within a dynamic self-assembled system. Nature Chem 2, 684–687 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.693
