Dr. Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay

Research Interests

The bridge between what we call as 'Living' and what we call as 'non-living' is still hidden behind a cloud of mist. However, based on the tremendous development in the field of chemistry and biology, we are currently at a vantage point to venture more into a new territory called 'Systems chemistry' and 'Systems biology', where we aim to unravel the mysteries that lie hidden behind this mist of theories related to the origin of life from simple molecules. Here, the next ‘Big’ problem is the development of complex molecular systems showing emergent properties; i.e. properties that go beyond the characteristics of the individual constituents present in a system. Supramolecular interactions and assemblies are ubiquitous in various biological systems, such as the organization of lipids, proteins and other bio-molecular complexes, which serves as a continuous source of inspiration for supramolecular chemists. These include assemblies in thermodynamic equilibrium, which persist for a prolonged period due to their energetic stability. However, for most of the dynamic biological functions such as the manipulation and movement of living cells, cell division, active transport, etc. the desired function only emerges from biological processes that are governed under out-of-equilibrium energy-dissipative conditions, continuously consuming energy in the form of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP), guanosine-5'-triphosphate (GTP) etc. Prominent examples include the dynamic self-assembly of microtubules, and actin filament tread milling behavior.  It is possible to identify at least three types of supramolecular systems that reside in an out-of-equilibrium (non-equilibrium) state. These include the non-dissipative kinetically trapped and metastable states and the continuously energy-dissipating far-from-equilibrium state. Among these, the energy-dissipative, far-from-equilibrium assemblies require a continuous supply of energy or fuel to reside at the threshold of instability. The continuous energy-driven transformations in the assemblies generates interesting and sometimes unpredictable emergent functions.

I am interested in designing supramolecular systems, assemblies and complex chemical networks, which reside in a far-from-equilibrium state and provide solutions to some of the present challenges in the field of non-equilibrium self-assembly and systems chemistry, e.g. management of chemical wastes, spatiotemporal control over self-assembly, automated feedback systems, compartmentalization of chemical networks, oscillating self-assembling systems etc, which may open up new research avenues in the field of artificial life-like systems, biomimicking materials with emergent properties, etc.