Molecular rotary motors: Unidirectional motion around double bonds

Design of photo-activated molecular machines: highlights from the past ten years

Researchers continue to generate ingenious (supra)molecular structures in which light can trigger controlled and directed movements of the components.

Design and photoisomerization dynamics of a new family of synthetic 2-stroke light driven molecular rotary motors

Synthetic 2-stroke light driven molecular rotary motors with ultrafast function and high quantum efficiency.

Macromolecule Orientation in Nanofibers

Electrospinning is now commercially used for the fabrication of nano/micro fibers. Compared with spider dragline silk, artificial fibers have poor mechanical properties. Unlike natural silk, which has a hierarchical structure with an approximate 3-fold symmetry, the molecular structure of spun fiber has neither folding nor orientation. To date, it is almost impossible to control molecule orientation during the spinning process. Here, we show that macromolecule orientation can be easily controlled using the laminar flow of fluid mechanics. A lasting laminar flow in a long needle can order macromolecules. We find that the orientation of macromolecules can greatly affect the morphology and mechanical properties of fibers. We expect our technology to be helpful for more sophisticated fabrication of fibers with ordered macromolecules and DNA-like twists.

Molecular Motors in Aqueous Environment

Molecular motors are Nature's solution for (supra)molecular transport and muscle functioning and are involved in most forms of directional motion at the cellular level. Their synthetic counterparts have also found a myriad of applications, ranging from molecular machines and smart materials to catalysis and anion transport. Although light-driven rotary molecular motors are likely to be suitable for use in an artificial cell, as well as in bionanotechnology, thus far they are not readily applied under physiological conditions. This results mainly from their inherently aromatic core structure, which makes them insoluble in aqueous solution. Here, the study of the dynamic behavior of these motors in biologically relevant media is described. Two molecular motors were equipped with solubilizing substituents and studied in aqueous solutions. Additionally, the behavior of a previously reported molecular motor was studied in micelles, as a model system for the biologically relevant confined environment. Design principles were established for molecular motors in these media, and insights are given into pH-dependent behavior. The work presented herein may provide a basis for the application of the remarkable properties of molecular motors in more advanced biohybrid systems.