The work of Lee Cronin et al related to iCHELLs

In the earlier post “Could Gallium make possible liquid metal life” (see this) I discussed the recent discovery of Chinese scientists and mentioned also the earlier work of Lee Cronin’s group related to the possibility of metal life (see this or this). Here is the abstract of an article published in 2010 (see this:

“Self-assembly has proven a powerful means of preparing structurally intricate nanomaterials, but the mechanism is often masked by the common one-pot mixing procedure. We employed a flow system to study the steps underlying assembly of a previously characterized molybdenum oxide wheel 3.6 nanometers in diameter. We observed crystallization of an intermediate structure in which a central Mo36 cluster appears to template the assembly of the surrounding Mo150 wheel. The transient nature of the template is demonstrated by its ejection after the wheel is reduced to its final electronic state. The template’s role in the self-assembly mechanism is further confirmed by the deliberate addition of the template to the reaction mixture, which greatly accelerates the assembly time of the Mo150 wheel and increases the yield.”

The following short abstract (see this) summarizes the work the second article of Cronin et al (see this). Unfortunately, the article is behind the paywall.

“Interfacial membrane formation by cation exchange of polyoxometalates produces modular inorganic chemical cells with tunable morphology, properties, and composition (see picture). These inorganic chemical cells (iCHELLs), which show redox activity, chirality, as well as selective permeability towards small molecules, can be nested within one another, potentially allowing stepwise reactions to occur in sequence within the cell.”

To understand the work of it is good to list some basic concepts.

1. Transition metals (see this, which are in periods 4,…,7 of the periodic table, are used. Molybdenum (Mo) is the one used in the first work.
2. Metallates (see this are compounds involving metal bound to several ions, which are negatively charged oxygen ions so that one talks of polyoxometalates. Examples of oxometalates are MnO₄^-,CrO₄^2-, VO₃^- or VO₄^3-, WO₄^2-. Also thio-,seleno-, telluro,- cyano-,… etc metallates are possible. Oxometallates have oxyanions (see this) as building blocks. Polyoxometalates (see this) consisting of several oxyanyons for which the general formula is A_xO^z-_y . Their protonation produces oxyacid HA_xO^z_y.

An interesting question, inspired by the notion of topological OH-O^- + dark proton qubit is whether this transition and its reverse can also have variants in which a proton of the oxyacid is transformed to a dark proton at the field body or vice versa.

Phosphates PO₄^3-, playing a key role in biology, are analogs of oxometallate. P is not a metal but can have besides the naively expected oxidation state -3 (3 missing valence electrons) also oxidation states +3 and +5 so that it behaves like a metal. Transition metals have typically oxidation state +3. Cronin et al introduce the notion of iCHELL as an analog of cell membrane.

1. iCHELL is formed in aqueous environment in presence of two kinds of salts. The first salt is formed from (oxyanions), which are large negative ions of transition metals such as tungsten W, usually belonging to group 6 and light positively charged ions such as H⁺ and Na⁺, which both behave like metal in this situation.

The second kind of salt is formed from large positively charged organic ions and light negatively charged ions such as Cl^-. The organic ion could be phosphorus, which can behave like a metal and become positively charged.

When the solutions of these salts are mixed, self-organization takes place and the salts exchange parts so that large metal oxides pair with the large organic ions. This new salt is insoluble in water: it precipitates as a shell, iCHELL, around the injected solution. For instance, salt formed from a large negatively charged oxyanion and large positively charged organic ion and light ions Na⁺ Cl^- can emerge. iCHELLs have a metal oxide backbone. An analog of cell membrane isolating its interior from the exterior is in question. Membrane potential characterizes it. The experience with ordinary biology raises questions.

1. Could one imagine cell organelles: iCHELLs within iCHELLs?
2. Is a selective transfer of chemicals through iCHELLs possible: this would allow a control of chemial reactions. It is indeed possible to generate holes in membrane acting as ion channels. There are also some indications that proton pump transferring protons through the membrane is possible.
3. What about photosynthesis: is the splitting of water into hydrogen ions, electrons, and oxygen, the first step of photosynthesis, possible? Light-sensitive ties linked to metal oxide molecules as analogs of photoreceptors.
4. What about DNA and genetic code?
5. Evolution and pH dependent survival of fittest? TGD suggets that pH coulda actually correspond to the density of dark protons.
6. Is inorganic metallic life based on the same principles as the ordinary life possible?

Could the TGD based quantum model of living systems relying on water serve as a guideline for speculations?

1. Water is involved also now and could have an important role. The basic form of Pollack effect occurs in the presence of a gel phase negatively charged regions of water (exclusion zones (EZs) able to remove impurities inside them). Oxyanyons can be transformed to oxyacids by the reversal of the Pollack effect (see this)/pollackwater,pollackphoto,photosynth}.
2. The system can be regarded as cold plasma and cold plasmas are in a key role in TGD view of the role of the TGD counterparts of classical electric, magnetic, and gravitational fields in quantum biology (see this and this). The generalization of the Pollack effect in which the binding energy liberated in the formation of organic or other molecules leads to self-organization creating new more complex molecules by driving protons to dark protons at the field body of the system. Could this kind of mechanism explain the formation of iCHELLs?
3. Could OH-O^- + dark p give rise to a topological qubit (see this)? Could the energy difference between these two states of qubits correspond to a voltage and could external voltage pulses modify this voltage so that Pollack effect or its reversal become possible and allow the flip the qubit?

Could the oxyanion side of the membrane give rise to 2-D structure consisting of bits and associated qubits?

Can one imagine a counterpart for DNA and genetic code? TGD suggests that genetic code has a universal realization in terms of a completely unique tessellation of hyperbolic 3-space (mass shell or cosmic time constant hyperboloid of CD), which involves 3 platonic solids instead of ne (tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron having triangular faces)(see this).

This tessellation can induce besides 1-D realizations also 2-D and even 3-D realizations also at the level of cell membrane as a 2-D realization. Could the OH-O^-+p qubits assignable to the oxyanyon backbone provide a dynamical 2-D realization of the genetic code in the same same way as OH-O^-+p qubits they might do in the case of ordinary DNA and perhaps also ordinary cell membrane.

What is the role of positively charged organic ions? It is needed to create the analog of membrane potential. Could it also play a role similar to that of gel phase in the Pollack effect? Cells and also DNA are negatively charged. If negatively charged ions are in the interior of the membrane, one might say that this is the case now. On the other hand, DNA is negatively charged at the outer surface (phosphate ions). Perhaps, a more plausible option is that the water generates negatively charged EZs in the Pollack effect creating the dark protons at the field body.

Could the TGD based quantum model of neuronal and cell membrane (see this) as a generalized Josephson junction with dark protons and ions forming Cooperpairs, serve as a guideline? In this model, proton pump involves Pollack effect and its reversal. The communications of the cell membrane to the magnetic body of the system would occur by Josephson radiation, whose frequency is proportional to the harmonic of the membrane potential (f= eV/h_eff). The huge value of the effectively Planck constant h_eff makes possible very low frequencies, such as EEG frequencies. The membrane potential and therefore also the Josephson frequency is modulated by the environment. Josephson radiation induces cyclotron transitions at the field body when the Josephson frequency equals the cyclotron frequency and analogs of nerve pulse sequences are generated giving possibly a response to the information sent to the field body. See the article Quartz crystals as a life form and ordinary computers as an interface between quartz life and ordinary life? or the chapter with the same title.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

For the lists of articles (most of them published in journals founded by Huping Hu) and books about TGD see this.

Source: https://matpitka.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-work-of-lee-cronin-et-al-related-to.html