Centre for Systems Chemistry

Systems chemistry indicates a new frontier of research in molecular sciences, moving beyond the borders of traditional reductionist approaches and studies of single molecular entities to multi-component (multi-)functional chemical systems. The challenge is to create new functions from an ensemble of molecular components at different hierarchical levels or via molecular networks with emergent properties. These approaches might allow, for instance, the development of entirely novel molecular computing and information storage systems, nanoscale machinery, sustainable catalytic processes and smart materials and offers new prospects in drug discovery. The systems chemistry approach will provide fundamental insight in how molecular processes are interconnected in biological systems, such as the operation of chemical networks in the cell or how information transfer and control at the molecular mesoscopic and supra- (macro-)molecular level operates. Systems chemistry also addresses one of the biggest mysteries in modern day science: the origin of life.