Emergence of Complexity from Minimal Building Blocks in Functional Supramolecular Systems

Ghosh, Chandranath (2025) Emergence of Complexity from Minimal Building Blocks in Functional Supramolecular Systems. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

Text (PhD thesis of Chandranath Ghosh (20RS046)) 20RS046.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (8MB)

Abstract

The present thesis, “Emergence of Complexity from Minimal Building Blocks in Functional Supramolecular Systems” explores the catalytic and dynamic properties of small-molecule assemblies, bridging static equilibrium systems with adaptive out-of-equilibrium architectures to create synthetic platforms that emulate and harness the complex behaviours of living matter. Chapter 1 demonstrates an introduction and summary of the state-of-the-art literature. Chapter 2 introduces the emergence of a promiscuous catalytic triad by short amyloid peptide-based assemblies that access paracrystalline folds of β-sheets to expose three residues (lysine, imidazole, and tyrosine) toward solvent. Chapter 3 demonstrates that catalytic C-O bond cleavage can fuel kinetic ratcheting to sustain the thermodynamically uphill deracemization of a C3-symmetric molecule, illustrating how energy coupling drives persistent symmetry breaking at far from equilibrium. Chapter 4 presents Cross-β amyloid peptide-based nanomotors (amylobots) harnessing urease-powered propulsion and cytochrome C-driven chemotaxis, showcasing dual enzyme-controlled motility for advanced catalytic and biomedical applications. Chapter 5 features the capabilities of short peptide-based coacervate droplets to demonstrate how intrinsic catalysis can control enzyme-powered coacervate motility, offering insights into the design of adaptive, life-like active matter. Chapter 6 presents an overall summary of the work and describes the significant findings of these studies. In addition, a broad overview of the possible future directions has been discussed.

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