The Role of Hydrogen Bonds in Thermally Responsive Crystallization-Driven Template Autocatalysis

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024 Apr 23:e202404838. doi: 10.1002/anie.202404838. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAutocatalysis has been well recognized to implicate in the emergence of life and is intrinsic to the biomolecular replication. Recently, an efficient template autocatalysis driven by solvent-free crystallization has been reported. Herein, we unveil the role of intermolecular hydrogen (H) bonds formed by amides in crystallization-driven template autocatalysis (CDTA), which involves the autocatalytic activity, template selectivity, and thermal responsiveness. We found that the thermal-induced cis-trans isomerization of amides possibly affects the H-bonding-mediated template ability of products for autocatalytic transformation. As a result, CDTA can be reversibly inhibited and activated by tuning the reaction temperatures. Our work sheds light on the significance of noncovalent H-bonding interactions in artificial self-replicators.PMID:38654551 | DOI:10.1002/anie.202404838

Source: Angewandte Chemie - April 24, 2024 Category: Chemistry Authors: Huimin Wu Qing-Xuan Chen Yang Su Zhen Chen Source Type: research