Building Molecules by a Self‐Replicator That Catalyzes Acyl Hydrazone Formation

Catalysis of bond‐forming reactions is key to the development of life‐like chemical systems as it allows to build up new material, increasing molecular complexity and diversity. Integrating catalysis with other characteristic properties of life, like self‐replication, represents an important advance in the transition from chemistry to life. We have previously shown that catalysis can emerge in synthetic self‐replicators that form through supramolecular assembly. However, the organocatalyzed reactions were solely bond‐breaking so far. We now report the successful expansion of the catalytic promiscuity of these systems to bond‐forming reactions. We show that a self‐replicator efficiently catalyzes acyl hydrazone formation between different hydrazides and aldehydes. This marks an important step towards the further development of evolvable systems that combine metabolic activity with self‐replication.