Gallou, Fabrice and Walde, Peter (2018) Aqueous soft dispersed interface-rich systems that promote and guide chemical reactions. Nature reviews chemistry, 2. pp. 306-327.

Abstract

Although aqueous solutions are considered as sustainable, environmentally friendly reaction media, their use often is limited due to incompatibilities in terms of the reactants’ solubilities. This apparent limitation can be overcome by converting aqueous solutions into soft dispersed interface-rich systems, for example into polyelectrolyte solutions, micellar solutions, oil-in-water microemulsions, or vesicle dispersions. All consist of homogenously distributed dynamic structures which provide local environments which are different from the bulk solution, in analogy to one of the key features of enzymes. The presence of soft dispersed interface-rich structures may not only lead to selective reaction accelerations, but also to changes in reaction pathways, whereby chemical reactions are guided by the structures towards desired products, again in analogy to enzyme-catalysed transformations. General concepts are illustrated with selected examples, ranging from enzyme mimics, the preparation of conductive polymers, and transfer metal-catalysed organic syntheses on industrial scale, to prebiotic systems chemistry considerations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2018 00:45
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2018 00:45
URI:	https://oak.novartis.com/id/eprint/36375