Evolvable Process Design (EPD)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Chemistry
Abstract
The aim of this research lies in the design and manufacture of an Evolvable Process Design (EPD) reactor platform such that 'evolved' chemical reactions can be investigated for the first time. This will be achieved by developing a novel engineering approach to the design and construction of a chemical reactor system that combines three crucial elements: (1) a chemical process system, (2) a feedback / GA-managed control system, and (3) chemical building blocks that can reversibly bind together. The development of this system will allow the selection of a chemical system that has the correct properties to allow evolution (i.e. ability to mate, produce off- spring, and live or die depending on the fitness landscape applied to the system). By combining these key three elements the EPD-system aims to utilise feedback and selection mechanisms based on spectroscopic properties of the system / molecules / materials being evolved. These reactors will be designed to examine chemical evolution, the proof of principle that this approach is viable and then the eventual extension to three key example areas including drug design, catalysis discovery and new materials discovery. This approach is of great relevance to the process industries since, by adopting an evolvable approach to the new molecules/material once the system identifies the route to climb the fitness landscape, the optimal process will be discovered at the same time. In other words, once you have your product you have your process . This will result in an order of magnitude change in the time-to-market of new products. The system will be designed to be intrinsically scaleable and continuous, meaning that scale of production will not be an issue. In addition to the process industries, reactor-based chemical evolution, has the potential to initiate a career study to simulate, or re-create, the fundamental chemical processes that are related to the emergence of life and complexity in chemistry.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Leroy Cronin (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Baker ML
(2012)
A classification of spin frustration in molecular magnets from a physical study of large odd-numbered-metal, odd electron rings.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Barge LM
(2015)
From Chemical Gardens to Chemobrionics.
in Chemical reviews
Belowich ME
(2012)
Positive cooperativity in the template-directed synthesis of monodisperse macromolecules.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Boyd T
(2011)
Investigating Cation Binding in the Polyoxometalate-Super-Crown [P 8 W 48 O 184 ] 40-
in Chemistry - A European Journal
Cameron JM
(2014)
Formation, self-assembly and transformation of a transient selenotungstate building block into clusters, chains and macrocycles.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Cereda A
(2014)
A bioelectrochemical approach to characterize extracellular electron transfer by Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.
in PloS one
Cooper G
(2017)
Miller-Urey Spark-Discharge Experiments in the Deuterium World
in Angewandte Chemie
Cooper GJT
(2017)
Miller-Urey Spark-Discharge Experiments in the Deuterium World.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Cui F
(2012)
Anion-dependent formation of helicates versus mesocates of triple-stranded M2L3 (M = Fe2+, Cu2+) complexes.
in Inorganic chemistry
Dragone V
(2017)
An autonomous organic reaction search engine for chemical reactivity.
in Nature communications
Eadie R
(2012)
Switching between ring closed and open N-incorporated heterocycles with tuneable charges and modular reactivity based upon 5-(2-bromoethyl)phenanthridinium bromide.
in Organic & biomolecular chemistry
Fielden J
(2012)
A fluorophosphate-based inverse Keggin structure.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Gao J
(2012)
Assembly of molecular "layered" heteropolyoxometalate architectures.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Georgiev V
(2014)
Optimization and Evaluation of Variability in the Programming Window of a Flash Cell With Molecular Metal-Oxide Storage
in IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
Glatzel S
(2016)
A Portable 3D Printer System for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria
in Chem
Gutierrez JM
(2014)
Evolution of oil droplets in a chemorobotic platform.
in Nature communications
Hutin M
(2013)
Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry II
Kato C
(2013)
Quick and selective synthesis of Li6[a-P2W18O62]·28H2O soluble in various organic solvents.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Kitson P
(2014)
Bringing Crystal Structures to Reality by Three-Dimensional Printing
in Crystal Growth & Design
Li F
(2012)
Cation induced structural transformation and mass spectrometric observation of the missing dodecavanadomanganate(IV).
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Long DL
(2010)
Polyoxometalates: building blocks for functional nanoscale systems.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Macdonell A
(2013)
Organic Nanomaterials - Synthesis, Characterization, and Device Applications
Mathieson JS
(2013)
Continuous parallel ESI-MS analysis of reactions carried out in a bespoke 3D printed device.
in Beilstein journal of nanotechnology
McGlone T
(2012)
An unprecedented silver-decavanadate dimer investigated using ion-mobility mass spectrometry.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
McGlone T
(2011)
Silver Linked Polyoxometalate Open Frameworks (Ag-POMOFs) for the Directed Fabrication of Silver Nanomaterials
in Crystal Growth & Design
Miras HN
(2012)
Solution-phase monitoring of the structural evolution of a Molybdenum Blue nanoring.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Miras HN
(2011)
Exploring the structure and properties of transition metal templated {VM17(VO4)2} Dawson-like capsules.
in Inorganic chemistry
Mirza MM
(2014)
Determining the electronic performance limitations in top-down-fabricated Si nanowires with mean widths down to 4 nm.
in Nano letters
Misdrahi MF
(2011)
Amphiphilic properties of dumbbell-shaped inorganic-organic-inorganic molecular hybrid materials in solution and at an interface.
in Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Newton GN
(2011)
Mapping the sequential self-assembly of heterometallic clusters: from a helix to a grid.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Parrilla Gutierrez Juan Manuel
(2014)
Hardware and Software manual for Evolution of Oil Droplets in a Chemo-Robotic Platform
in arXiv e-prints
Pradeep CP
(2011)
Design and synthesis of "dumb-bell" and "triangular" inorganic-organic hybrid nanopolyoxometalate clusters and their characterisation through ESI-MS analyses.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Richmond CJ
(2012)
A flow-system array for the discovery and scale up of inorganic clusters.
in Nature chemistry
Ruiz De La Oliva A
(2017)
Coding the Assembly of Polyoxotungstates with a Programmable Reaction System
in Inorganic Chemistry
Scharf C
(2016)
Quantifying the origins of life on a planetary scale.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Symes M
(2011)
The Crystal Computer - Computing with Inorganic Cellular Frameworks and Nets
in International Journal of Nanotechnology and Molecular Computation
Takashima Y
(2014)
Towards imaging electron density inside metal-organic framework structures.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Taylor JW
(2017)
Autonomous model protocell division driven by molecular replication.
in Nature communications
Thiel J
(2012)
Insights into the Self-Assembly Mechanism of the Modular Polyoxometalate "Keggin-Net" Family of Framework Materials and Their Electronic Properties
in Crystal Growth & Design
Vilà-Nadal L
(2012)
Exploring the rotational isomerism in non-classical Wells-Dawson anions {W18X}: a combined theoretical and mass spectrometry study.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
Xu F
(2012)
Correlating the magic numbers of inorganic nanomolecular assemblies with a {Pd84} molecular-ring Rosetta Stone.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Yoshida M
(2017)
Time-programmable drug dosing allows the manipulation, suppression and reversal of antibiotic drug resistance in vitro.
in Nature communications
Zang H
(2012)
Assembly and autochirogenesis of a chiral inorganic polythioanion Möbius strip via symmetry breaking.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
| Description | These reactors have been designed to examine chemical evolution, the proof of principle that this approach is viable and then the eventual extension to three key example areas including drug design, catalysis discovery and new materials discovery. |
| Exploitation Route | This approach is of great relevance to the process industries since, by adopting an evolvable approach to the new molecules/material once the system identifies the route to climb the fitness landscape, the optimal process will be discovered at the same time. |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | These findings have been used for the evolution of more complex organic and inorganic materials |