Periodic Reporting for period 3 - MolMacIP (Molecular Machines with Integrated Parts)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-02-01 al 2023-07-31
The widespread use of molecular-level motion in key natural processes suggests that great rewards could come from bridging the gap between the present generation of synthetic molecular machines—which by and large rely upon switching of individual components to carry out their functions—and the machines of the macroscopic world, which utilize the synchronized behaviour of integrated components to perform tasks more complex than the sum of the components.
The aim of this project is to design, construct and investigate the operation of synthetic molecular machines capable of performing sophisticated tasks. The key is learning how to integrate the movements and chemistries of different
machine components. We propose to make artificial molecular machines with integrated parts in which switches, gripping-release chemistries, ratchet mechanisms and track-bound molecules are integrated to produce outcomes that are more than the sum of what can be done by the individual components.
Success would give mankind the beginnings of a fundamentally new type of molecular nanotechnology.
The aim of this project is to design, construct and investigate the operation of synthetic molecular machines capable of performing sophisticated tasks. The key is learning how to integrate the movements and chemistries of different
machine components. We propose to make artificial molecular machines with integrated parts in which switches, gripping-release chemistries, ratchet mechanisms and track-bound molecules are integrated to produce outcomes that are more than the sum of what can be done by the individual components.
Success would give mankind the beginnings of a fundamentally new type of molecular nanotechnology.
New operating methods were discovered for a molecular transporter that functions through ratcheting: the transporter uses a small-molecule robotic arm controlled by a rotary switch to reposition a substrate by applying dynamic covalent chemistry to perform the attachment/release actions.
We succeeded in developing an artificial molecular machine that moves along a track, iteratively joining building blocks to form an oligomer of single sequence with a continuous backbone of carbon-carbon bonds. This new class of de novo molecular synthesizer utilizes chemistry and reactivity patterns unavailable to biological machines.
Another exciting achievement has been the development of a synthetic molecular machine that can induce catalysis via a fuel-induced transient state. The system can be pulsed with chemical fuel several times in succession, with each pulse activating catalysis for a time period determined by the amount of fuel added. Dissipative catalysis by synthetic molecular machines has implications for the future design of networks that feature communication and signalling between the components.
Recently, we developed a chemically fuelled molecular pump that operates against a concentration gradient. This machine is an autonomous chemically fuelled information ratchet that in the presence of fuel continuously pumps crown ether macrocycles from bulk solution onto a molecular axle without the need for further intervention. The use of catalysis to drive artificial molecular pumps opens up new opportunities, insights and research directions at the interface of catalysis and molecular machinery.
We succeeded in developing an artificial molecular machine that moves along a track, iteratively joining building blocks to form an oligomer of single sequence with a continuous backbone of carbon-carbon bonds. This new class of de novo molecular synthesizer utilizes chemistry and reactivity patterns unavailable to biological machines.
Another exciting achievement has been the development of a synthetic molecular machine that can induce catalysis via a fuel-induced transient state. The system can be pulsed with chemical fuel several times in succession, with each pulse activating catalysis for a time period determined by the amount of fuel added. Dissipative catalysis by synthetic molecular machines has implications for the future design of networks that feature communication and signalling between the components.
Recently, we developed a chemically fuelled molecular pump that operates against a concentration gradient. This machine is an autonomous chemically fuelled information ratchet that in the presence of fuel continuously pumps crown ether macrocycles from bulk solution onto a molecular axle without the need for further intervention. The use of catalysis to drive artificial molecular pumps opens up new opportunities, insights and research directions at the interface of catalysis and molecular machinery.