Abstract
Self-reproducing molecules abound in nature where they support growth and motion of living systems. In artificial settings, chemical reactions can also show complex kinetics of reproduction, however integrating self-reproducing molecules into larger chemical systems remains a challenge towards achieving higher order functionality. Here, we show that self-reproducing lipids can initiate, sustain and accelerate the movement of octanol droplets in water. Reciprocally, the chemotactic movement of the octanol droplets increases the rate of lipid reproduction substantially. Reciprocal coupling between bond-forming chemistry and droplet motility is thus established as an effect of the interplay between molecular-scale events (the self-reproduction of lipid molecules) and microscopic events (the chemotactic movement of the droplets). This coupling between molecular chemistry and microscopic motility offers alternative means of performing work and catalysis in micro-heterogeneous environments.
Highlights
Self-reproducing molecules abound in nature where they support growth and motion of living systems
In the presence of lipid micelles, microscopic oil droplets move in water autonomously[29,30,31,32,33,34], and their motion can be initiated by chemical reactions[35,36,37]
Based on the fact that lipids can support surface tension-driven propulsion, we envisioned that an environment favorable to motility could emerge from lipid reproduction
Summary
Self-reproducing molecules abound in nature where they support growth and motion of living systems. Despite molecular selfreproduction and chemotactic motion being both ubiquitous features of life, the intricacies of their interplay remain mostly unknown, partly because the mechanisms which are involved require coupling between chemical processes that occur at the molecular level, with physical processes that occur at the microscopic length scale. In this context, the self-reproduction of simple models of membranes (e.g. micelles and vesicles) has been investigated[15], and artificial self-reproducing systems have been developed where hydrophobic molecules react slowly with molecules dissolved in water[16,17,18]. Chemo-motile coupling subsequently develops between lipid reproduction and droplet motion: the lipids self-assemble into micelles that make oil droplets move and, in return, the chemotactic movement of the droplets increases the rate of lipid selfreproduction (Fig. 1)
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