Related papers: Self-replicating fuels via autocatalytic molecular…
Colloidal particles of two types, driven in opposite directions, can segregate into lanes [Vissers et al. Soft Matter 7, 2352 (2011)]. This phenomenon can be reproduced by two-dimensional Brownian dynamics simulations of model particles…
The apparent difficulty of designing simple autocatalysts that grow exponentially in the absence of enzymes, external drives or ingenious internal mechanisms severely constrains scenarios for the emergence of evolution by natural selection…
Classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations provide insight on the properties of many soft-matter systems. In some situations it is interesting to model the creation of chemical bonds, a process that is not part of the MD framework. In…
We develop a multi-scale approach to simulate hydrated nanobio systems under realistic condi- tions (e.g., nanoparticles and protein solutions at physiological conditions over time-scales up to hours). We combine atomistic simulations of…
DNA-coated colloids can self-assemble into an incredible diversity of crystal structures, but applications of this technology are limited by poor understanding and control over the dynamical crystallization pathways. To address this…
It has been argued that a central objective of nanotechnology is to make products inexpensively, and that self-replication is an effective approach to very low-cost manufacturing. The research presented here is intended to be a step towards…
This study presents a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation model to investigate the process of oxidative aging in polymers. The chemical aging effect is attributed to the auto-oxidation mechanism, which is initiated by radicals,…
Biomolecular condensates are formed via liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins, often together with nucleic acids, typically driven by interactions between low-affinity binding sites. The computational study of such condensates that…
We consider a model for a quantum battery consisting of a collection of $N$ two-level atoms driven by a classical field and decaying to a common reservoir. In the extensive regime, where the energy $E$ scales as $N$ and the fluctuations…
Background: The idea that autocatalytic sets played an important role in the origin of life is not new. However, the likelihood of autocatalytic sets emerging spontaneously has long been debated. Recently, progress has been made along two…
The folding of biological macromolecules is a fundamental process of which we lack a full comprehension. Mostly studied in proteins and RNA, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) also folds, at physiological salt conditions, by forming non-specific…
In recent years there have been a number of proposals to utilize the specificity of DNA based interactions for potential applications in nanoscience. One interesting direction is the self-assembly of micro- and nanoparticle clusters using…
The design and operation of a differential Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell is described. The fuel cell design is based on coupled Stirred Tank Reactors (STR); the gas phase in each reactor compartment was well mixed. The…
The collapsar engine behind long-duration gamma-ray bursts extracts the energy released from the rapid accretion of a collapsing star onto a stellar-massed black hole. In a collapsing star, this black hole can form in two ways: the direct…
Five bimetallic electrocatalysts (ECs) including a carbon nitride (CN) support are synthesised through the pyrolysis of a solid precursor obtained through sol-gel and gel-plastic processes. The resulting ECs are characterised through…
Human-created engines and evolutionarily optimized molecular motors exhibit sophisticated design in order to harvest chemical or thermal energy for generating unidirectional motion. The complexity of these motors makes their random…
Thermodynamic aspects of chemical reactions have a long history in the Physical Chemistry literature. In particular, biochemical cycles - the building-blocks of biochemical systems - require a source of energy to function. However, although…
Inspired by recent successes using single-stranded DNA tiles to produce complex structures, we develop a two-step coarse-graining approach that uses detailed thermodynamic calculations with oxDNA, a nucleotide-based model of DNA, to…
Straight cracks are observed in thin coatings under residual tensile stress, resulting into the classical network pattern observed in china crockery, old paintings or dry mud. Here, we present a novel fracture mechanism where delamination…
The fabrication of synthetic self-propelled particles and the experimental investigations of their dynamics have stimulated interest in self-generated phoretic effects that propel nano- and micron-scale objects. Theoretical modeling of…