A transient self-assembling self-replicator

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04670-2
• Publication Date: 2018-06-04T14:28:58Z
• Authors: Ignacio Colomer; Sarah M. Morrow; Stephen P. Fletcher
• Keywords: Metastability; Alkene; Abiogenesis

Developing physical models of complex dynamic systems showing emergent behaviour is key to informing on persistence and replication in biology, how living matter emerges from chemistry, design with new properties. Herein we report a fully synthetic small molecule system which surfactant replicator formed two phase-separated reactants using an alkene metathesis catalyst. The self-assembles into aggregates, catalyse their own formation, thermodynamically unstable. Rather than replicating until the are consumed, metastable depleted second reaction, closed equilibrium eventually reached. Mechanistic experiments suggest phase separation responsible for both formation destruction.