Pumping Small Molecules Selectively through an Energy-Assisted Assembling Process at Nonequilibrium States

Huimin Fu; Nengjie Cao; Wang Zeng; Min Liao; Shenglin Yao; Jiajia Zhou; Wei Zhang

doi:10.1021/jacs.3c12228

Pumping Small Molecules Selectively through an Energy-Assisted Assembling Process at Nonequilibrium States

J Am Chem Soc. 2024 Feb 7;146(5):3323-3330. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c12228. Epub 2024 Jan 25.

Authors

Huimin Fu¹, Nengjie Cao¹, Wang Zeng², Min Liao¹, Shenglin Yao¹, Jiajia Zhou¹, Wei Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
² National Centre for Inorganic Mass Spectrometry in Shanghai, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, P. R. China.

PMID: 38273768
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c12228

Abstract

In living organisms, precise control over the spatial and temporal distribution of molecules, including pheromones, is crucial. This level of control is equally important for the development of artificial active materials. In this study, we successfully controlled the distribution of small molecules in the system at nonequilibrium states by actively transporting them, even against the apparent concentration gradient, with high selectivity. As a demonstration, in the aqueous solution of acid orange (AO7) and TMC₁₀COOH, we found that AO7 molecules can coassemble with transient anhydride (TMC₁₀CO)₂O to form larger assemblies in the presence of chemical fuel 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). This led to a decrease in local free AO7 concentration and caused AO7 molecules from other locations in the solution to move toward the assemblies. Consequently, AO7 accumulates at the location where EDC was injected. By continuously injecting EDC, we could maintain a stable high value of the apparent AO7 concentration at the injection point. We also observed that this process which operated at nonequilibrium states exhibited high selectivity.