Autocatalysis for self-replication in synthesis

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The chiral homogeneity of biomolecules, i.e., homochirality, is one of the striking features of life, and is considered to be closely related to self-organisation, thus to the origin and evolution of life. The proposed research aims to learn how to propag ate stereochemical information for a directed self-replication. In fact, many organic transformations provide chiral compounds bearing one or several functional groups that are reminiscent of the original catalysts. Thus, newly formed chiral products beco me suitable catalyst-candidates for asymmetric self-replication processes. In our research group, we have recently identified a set of autocatalytic reactions that show promise for self-replication of chirality. Knowledge of the key attributes of this asy mmetric catalysis is needed to form better models of self-replication of chirality. Beyond economical considerations, environmental concerns call for the development of green chemistry routes that minimize the environmental impact of synthetic methodologi es.