Research
We investigate the (supra)-molecular mechanisms that underpin purposeful and functional movement in soft molecular matter, with a focus ranging from artificial molecular machines to the molecular origins of life. Our research spans two primary areas: researching plausible pathways for the molecular origins of life in the primordial ocean, and developing biomimetic and sustainable materials.
Molecular Origins of Life in the Primordial Ocean
Our team investigates how prebiotic conditions on the late Hadean Earth may have given rise to the first cells, focusing on dynamic processes in the primordial ocean.
• Photochemical Formation of Lipids: We have proposed that solar irradiation of a primordial oil slick has led to the synthesis of the first lipids on Earth (e.g., fatty acids). These lipids formed the earliest cellular membranes.
• Vesicle Formation via Droplet Dynamics: Our hypothesis is that lipid-stabilized water droplets passing through the oil slick have facilitated the formation of large vesicles and the encapsulation of essential building blocks in these protocells.
• Expanding the Scope of Prebiotic Chemistry: We study lipid-stabilized oil droplets as prebiotic chemical reactors. These oil droplets, formed from the primordial oil slick, would have facilitated chemical reactions that are not favored in water.
• Mechanochemistry of RNA. Our current focus is to demonstrate how the mechanochemistry of RNA is a key to understand the prebiotic replication of RNA in water droplets.
• Peptide Nucleic Acid Coacervates: Creating coacervate droplets capable of sequestering specific strands of RNA. This research also has the potential to contribute to RNA therapeutics, by reducing toxicity of the delivery and by enhancing specificity.
Biomimetic and Sustainable Materials
We engineer bio-inspired materials to address pressing societal and environmental challenges.
• Soft Robots: We leverage molecular principles of movement in living systems, in order to develop synthetic materials that can undergo complex and functional deformations.
• Mechanochemistry of molecular machines: Mechanochemistry uses mechanical forces to drive chemical transformations without heat or harsh reagents, offering a sustainable approach to materials design and chemical reactivity. Our group explores the mechanochemistry of artificial molecular machines.
• Green Surfactants: We use automation in research, in combination with AI-driven tools to i) accelerate the discovery of sustainable surfactants and ii) improve the degradability of so-called “forever” surfactants. Our ultimate aim is to reduce the environmental impact of human activities and to contribute to cleaner oceans.
