Seminars and Special Events

IBNAM/Chemistry Special Seminar: From Supramolecular Chemistry to Constitutional Dynamic Chemistry (announcement 1.7MB)

Jean-Marie Lehn
1987 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
ISIS, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg
and
Collège de France, Paris

Friday, October 13, 2006
4pm*
Tech LR3**

Abstract

Supramolecular chemistry is actively exploring systems undergoing self-organization, i.e. systems capable of spontaneously generating well-defined functional supramolecular architectures by self-assembly from their components, on the basis of the molecular information stored in the covalent framework of the components and read out at the supramolecular level through specific interactional algorithms, thus behaving as programmed chemical systems.

Supramolecular chemistry is intrinsically a dynamic chemistry in view of the lability of the interactions connecting the molecular components of a supramolecular entity and the resulting ability of supramolecular species to exchange their constituents. The same holds for molecular chemistry when the molecular entity contains covalent bonds that may form and break reversibility, so as to allow a continuous change in constitution by reorganization and exchange of building blocks. These features define a Constitutional Dynamic Chemistry (CDC) on both the molecular and supramolecular levels.

CDC introduces a paradigm shift with respect to constitutionally static chemistry. The latter relies on design for the generation of a target entity, whereas CDC takes advantage of dynamic diversity to allow variation and selection. The implementation of selection in chemistry introduces a fundamental change in outlook. Whereas self-organization by design strives to achieve full control over the output molecular or supramolecular entity by explicit programming, self-organization by selection operates on dynamic constitutional diversity in response to either internal or external factors to achieve adaptation.

Several applications of this approach in biological systems as well as in materials science will be described.

The merging of the features:
- information and programmability,
- dynamics and reversibility,
- constitution and structural diversity, points towards the emergence of adaptive chemistry.

References

•  Lehn, J.-M., Supramolecular Chemistry: Concepts and Perspectives , VCH Weinheim, 1995 .

•  Lehn, J.-M., in Supramolecular Chemistry: Where It Is and Where It Is Going (R. Ungaro, E. Dalcanale, eds.), Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1999 , pp. 287-304.

•  Lehn, J.-M., Dynamic combinatorial chemistry and virtual combinatorial libraries , Chem. Eur. J., 1999 , 5, 2455.

•  Lehn, J.-M., Programmed chemical systems : Multiple subprograms and multiple processing/expression of molecular information , Chem. Eur. J., 2000 , 6, 2097.

•  Lehn , J.-M., Toward complex matter: Supramolecular chemistry and self-organization, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2002 , 99, 4763.

•  Lehn, J.-M., Toward self-organization and complex matter , Science, 2002 , 295, 2400.

•  Lehn, J.-M., Dynamers : Dynamic molecular and supramolecular polymers ,
Prog. Polym. Sci., 2005 , 30, 814.

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*Refreshments will be served at 3:30pm
**Technological Institute, Room LR3, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston

 

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