Chemically triggered metal-ion signals to generate pulsed functions in supramolecular multicomponent networks

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Schmittel
• Subject Area: Organic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation ; Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2021 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 491092614

Living biological systems communicate in a highly interdependent manner using chemical signals. The use of pulsed calcium ion signals is a sophisticated method to selectively trigger a wide range of cellular processes using frequency-encoded information transfer. Following the biological model, functional artificial multicomponent systems are to be operated via metal ion pulses. Here, the discrete addition of a fuel acid temporarily triggers first a release of metal ions followed by their retrieval, resulting in a pulse-like re-sorting of the metallosupramolecular structure(s) into a temporary functional unit followed by its decay. The potential of this process is to perform either catalytic reactions at high and low frequency or frequency-encoded molecular logic processes via the time modulated addition of the fuel acid. This additional dimension of steering, which is close to the dynamic regulation of biological tasks by calcium ion pulses, promises an entry into pulsed, later frequency modulated process control.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants