Sharma C, Maity I, Walther A. pH-feedback systems to program autonomous self-assembly and material lifecycles.
Chem Commun (Camb) 2023;
59:1125-1144. [PMID:
36629372 DOI:
10.1039/d2cc06402b]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
pH-responsive systems have gained importance for the development of smart materials and for biomedical applications because they can switch between different states by simple acid/base triggers. However, such equilibrium systems lack the autonomous behaviour that is so ubiquitous in living systems that self-regulate out of equilibrium. As a contribution to the emerging field of autonomous chemical systems, we have developed pH-feedback systems (pH-FS) based on the coupling of acid- and base-producing steps in chemical reaction networks. The resulting autonomous nonlinear pH curves can be coupled with a variety of pH-sensitive building blocks to program the lifecycles of the associated transient state at the level of self-assemblies and material systems. In this article, we discuss the different generations of such pH-feedback systems, the principles of their coupling to self-assemblies with lifecycles and highlight emerging concepts for the design of autonomous functional materials. The specificity, robustness, and flexible operation of such pH-FS can also be used to realize chemo-structural and chemo-mechanical feedbacks that extend the behaviour of such materials systems toward complex and functional life-like systems.
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