A robotic prebiotic chemist probes long term reactions of complexifying mixtures

Asche, S., Cooper, G. J.T. , Keenan, G., Mathis, C. and Cronin, L. (2021) A robotic prebiotic chemist probes long term reactions of complexifying mixtures. Nature Communications, 12, 3547. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23828-z) (PMID:34112788) (PMCID:PMC8192940)

Abstract

To experimentally test hypotheses about the emergence of living systems from abiotic chemistry, researchers need to be able to run intelligent, automated, and long-term experiments to explore chemical space. Here we report a robotic prebiotic chemist equipped with an automatic sensor system designed for long-term chemical experiments exploring unconstrained multicomponent reactions, which can run autonomously over long periods. The system collects mass spectrometry data from over 10 experiments, with 60 to 150 algorithmically controlled cycles per experiment, running continuously for over 4 weeks. We show that the robot can discover the production of high complexity molecules from simple precursors, as well as deal with the vast amount of data produced by a recursive and unconstrained experiment. This approach represents what we believe to be a necessary step towards the design of new types of Origin of Life experiments that allow testable hypotheses for the emergence of life from prebiotic chemistry.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Keenan, Mr Graham and Mathis, Dr Cole and Asche, Silke and Cooper, Dr Geoff and Cronin, Professor Lee
• Authors: Asche, S., Cooper, G. J.T., Keenan, G., Mathis, C., and Cronin, L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: Nature Communications
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN (Online): 2041-1723
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nature Communications 12: 3547
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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