Title : Control over self-assembly towards smart material formation
Abstract:
Control over the formation of molecules and molecular architectures with specific precision are well known in Nature, directing vital process such as cell motility, intercellular transport etc. As a class of fascinating molecules, enzymes act as biological catalyst accelerating specific reactions in aqueous environment and can modulate their catalytic activity in presence of physicochemical stimuli. Therefore, enzyme catalysis and related mechanism are the important source of inspiration for developing artificial biomimetic systems. In comparison, the examples of controlled formation of molecules and materials for artificial systems are limited. Generally, in the artificial systems, (catalytic)reactions take place with initially chosen reaction conditions. Hence, the control over the chemical process is difficult, which would be necessary for smart applications. On the other hand, most of the artificial chemical reactions takes place in organic solvents, which have toxicity issues and other risk factors such as flammability, explosivity. With that respect, water is a safe reaction medium, which is abundant, cheap, and environmentally safe. Here, I will show how organocatalytic activity of an artificial system can be controlled in an aqueous atmosphere by the application of stimuli. Besides, control over in-situ formation of molecular building block, which could result in the formation of smart material will also be discussed. Property modulation of the material could be achieved via the presence of a stimulus. I will also demonstrate stimuli-induced controlled release of molecule(s) towards application of smart material in biological environment.
Audience take away:
- Biomimetic approach for smart material formation
- Control over formation/defragmentation of material for smart application
- Organocatalysis in aqueous media