Crippa Martina, Perego Claudio, Pavan Giovanni M
Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy.
Department of Innovative Technologies, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Polo Universitario Lugano, Campus Est, Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland.
Nat Commun. 2025 May 30;16(1):5030. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60150-4.
Supramolecular polymers are composed of monomers that self-assemble non-covalently generating distributions of fibres in continuous exchange-and-communication with each other and the surroundings. Intriguing collective properties may emerge in such molecular-scale complex systems, following mechanisms often difficult to ascertain. Here we show how non-trivial collective behaviours may emerge in dynamical supramolecular polymer systems already at low-complexity levels. We combine minimalistic models, simulations, and advanced statistical analyses investigating how cooperative and non-cooperative supramolecular polymer systems respond to a specific stimulus: i.e., the addition of molecular sequestrators perturbing their equilibrium. Our data show how, while in a non-cooperative system all assemblies populating the system suffer uniformly the perturbation, in a cooperative system the larger/stronger assemblies survive at the expense of the smaller/weaker entities. Collective behaviours typical of larger-scale and more complex (social, economic, etc.) systems may thus emerge even in relatively simple self-assembling systems from the internal (microscopic) dynamic heterogeneity of their ensembles.
超分子聚合物由单体组成，这些单体通过非共价方式自组装，形成相互之间以及与周围环境持续交换和通信的纤维分布。在这样的分子尺度复杂系统中，可能会出现引人入胜的集体性质，其机制往往难以确定。在这里，我们展示了在低复杂度水平的动态超分子聚合物系统中，如何出现非平凡的集体行为。我们结合简约模型、模拟和先进的统计分析，研究合作性和非合作性超分子聚合物系统如何对特定刺激做出反应，即添加分子螯合剂扰乱其平衡。我们的数据表明，在非合作系统中，系统中所有的组装体都会均匀地受到扰动，而在合作系统中，较大/较强的组装体得以存活，而较小/较弱的实体则会受损。因此，即使在相对简单的自组装系统中，由于其集合体内部（微观）的动态异质性，也可能出现大规模和更复杂（社会、经济等）系统特有的集体行为。
