Combinatorial Compression in Nucleobase Self-Assembly Governed by Seeding Kinetics
Crystallization from chemically complex mixtures is governed not only by thermodynamic stability but also by kinetic competition among structurally related components during nucleation and growth. When multiple compatible molecules compete for incorporation into early nuclei, the number of possible local recognition motifs can expand, delaying access to productive crystalline pathways. Here, we investigate this effect using supersaturated aqueous mixtures of the canonical nucleobases adenine (A), thymine (T), and uracil (U) as a minimal model for competitive supramolecular crystallization. Time-resolved turbidity measurements showed that ternary A+T+U mixtures crystallize more slowly and less efficiently than selected binary systems, despite containing individually crystallizable components. This inhibition is consistent with competition-induced kinetic frustration, where structurally similar hydrogen-bonding partners compete during early nucleation, delaying formation of a productive crystalline nucleus. We then show that preformed A+T crystalline seeds rescue ordered growth from the ternary mixture. Seeding sharply reduces the lag time, increases the apparent nucleation/onset rate, and redirects the solid product toward the A+T crystalline pathway, as confirmed by HPLC. Thus, the seed acts not only as a nucleation accelerator but as a selector of molecular composition and assembly trajectory within a multicomponent solution. We describe this process as kinetic compression: the reduction of accessible supramolecular assembly pathways through amplifications of selected productive growth pathways. These findings establish seeded crystallization as a mechanism for selecting compositional pathways in competitive molecular mixtures and suggest a physical route by which ordered molecular subsets can emerge from chemically complex environments.