Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

07:50
Plasmid-derived DNA Strand Displacement Gates for Implementing Chemical Reaction Networks
Published on: November 25, 2015
Bifurcation diagrams and Turing patterns in a chemical self-replicating reaction-diffusion system with cross
Jessica M Chung1, Enrique Peacock-López
1Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267, USA.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|November 13, 2007
Summary
This study models chemical self-replication, incorporating the square root rate law and cross-diffusion to analyze pattern formation. Generalized results provide exact relations for bifurcations in complex chemical systems.
Area of Science:
- Chemical kinetics
- Pattern formation
- Biophysical chemistry
Background:
- Oligonucleotide and helical peptide self-replication follows a square root rate law.
- Previous models focused on ideal replicators, lacking nonlinearities and enzymatic sinks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To generalize chemical self-replication models by including the square root rate law and nonlinearities.
- To investigate the role of cross-diffusion in pattern formation within these generalized models.
- To derive exact relations for bifurcations in complex chemical systems.
Main Methods:
- Extension of ideal replicator models to incorporate nonlinear kinetics and enzymatic sinks.
- Analysis of pattern formation using cross-diffusion terms.
- Derivation of general relations for Poincaré-Andronov-Hopf and Turing bifurcations.
Main Results:
- Exact general relations for Poincaré-Andronov-Hopf and Turing bifurcations were obtained.
- The generalized model encompasses Higgins, Autocatalator, and Templator models as specific cases.
- Cross-diffusion plays a significant role in pattern formation within the studied systems.
Conclusions:
- The generalized model provides a comprehensive framework for studying chemical self-replication with nonlinearities.
- The derived bifurcation relations offer insights into pattern formation mechanisms.
- This work advances the understanding of complex chemical systems and their dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
Woodward–Hoffmann Selection Rules and Microscopic Reversibility
Electrocyclic reactions, cycloadditions, and sigmatropic rearrangements are concerted pericyclic reactions that proceed via a cyclic transition state. These reactions are stereospecific and regioselective. The stereochemistry of the products depends on the symmetry characteristics of the interacting orbitals and the reaction conditions. Accordingly, pericyclic reactions are classified as either symmetry-allowed or symmetry-forbidden. Woodward and Hoffmann presented the selection criteria for...
Consecutive Reactions
Consecutive reactions involve a sequence where the product of a preceding reaction becomes the reactant for the subsequent one. In a simple scheme, A transforms into B, which further reacts to form C, with rate constants k1 and k2, respectively. This concept is evident in the radioactive decay series. Assuming an initial state with only A present, the conservation of matter leads to three coupled differential equations, determining the concentrations of A, B, and C over time.The rate of change...
Chemical Reactions
A balanced chemical equation provides the information of chemical formulas of the reactants and products involved in the chemical change. A reaction’s stoichiometry helps predict how much of the reactant is needed to produce the desired amount of product, or in some cases, how much product will be formed from a specific amount of the reactant.
The relative amounts of reactants and products represented in a balanced chemical equation are often referred to as stoichiometric amounts. However, in...
The relative amounts of reactants and products represented in a balanced chemical equation are often referred to as stoichiometric amounts. However, in...
Chemical Reactions
A chemical reaction is a process by which the bonds in the atoms of substances are rearranged to generate new substances. Matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction—the same type and number of atoms that make up the reactants are still present in the products. Merely, the rearrangement of chemical bonds produces new compounds.
Chemical Reactions Rearrange Atoms into New Substances
A chemical reaction takes starting materials—the reactants—and changes them into different...
Chemical Reactions Rearrange Atoms into New Substances
A chemical reaction takes starting materials—the reactants—and changes them into different...
Dynamic Equilibrium
A reversible chemical reaction represents a chemical process that proceeds in both forward (left to right) and reverse (right to left) directions. When the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal, the concentrations of the reactant and product species remain constant over time and the system is at equilibrium. A special double arrow is used to emphasize the reversible nature of the reaction. The relative concentrations of reactants and products in equilibrium systems vary greatly;...
Reaction Mechanisms
Chemical reactions often occur in a stepwise fashion, involving two or more distinct reactions taking place in a sequence. A balanced equation indicates the reacting species and the product species, but it reveals no details about how the reaction occurs at the molecular level. The reaction mechanism (or reaction path) provides details regarding the precise, step-by-step process by which a reaction occurs.
For instance, the decomposition of ozone appears to follow a mechanism with two steps:
For instance, the decomposition of ozone appears to follow a mechanism with two steps:

