Artificial Chemistry Performed in an Agglomeration of Droplets with Restricted Molecule Transfer

Within the scope of the European Horizon 2020 project ACDC – Artificial Cells with Distributed Cores to Decipher Protein Function, we aim at the development of a chemical compiler governing the three-dimensional arrangement of droplets, which are filled with various chemicals. Neighboring droplets form bilayers with pores which allow chemicals to move from one droplet to its neighbors. With an appropriate three-dimensional configuration of droplets, we can thus enable gradual biochemical reaction schemes for various purposes, e.g., for the production of macromolecules for pharmaceutical purposes. In this paper, we demonstrate with artificial chemistry simulations that the ACDC technology is excellently suitable to maximize the yield of desired reaction products or to minimize the relative output of unwanted side products.