Organic Supramolecular Chemistry: A Research Programme on Synthetic Molecular Motors and Machines
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Chemistry
Abstract
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the technological potential of controlled molecular-level motion it is to recognise that nanomotors and molecular-level machines lie at the heart of every significant biological process. Over billions of years of evolution Nature has not repeatedly chosen this solution for achieving complex task performance without good reason. In stark contrast to biology, none of mankind's fantastic myriad of present day technologies exploit controlled molecular-level motion in any way at all: every catalyst, every material, every polymer, every pharmaceutical, every chemical reagent, all function exclusively through their static or equilibrium dynamic properties. When we learn how to build artificial structures that can control and exploit molecular level motion, and interface their effects directly with other molecular-level substructures and the outside world, it will potentially impact on every aspect of functional molecule and materials design. An improved understanding of physics and biology will surely follow.The Leigh group are one of the world leaders in the design and construction of artificial molecular motors and synthetic molecular machine systems. As well as having prepared some of the first synthetic motors and functional machine molecules, they have explained in chemical terms the concept of ratcheting and introduced it as a design concept for synthetic molecular motor systems. This is a fundamental tool that, once fully explored and mastered, will allow scientists to drive chemical systems away from equilibrium in a controlled manner. This research programme seeks to expand and exploit our understanding of these systems to make more advanced and more functional synthetic molecular machines, including molecular motors driven by chemical fuels, synthetic molecular structures that can 'walk' down molecular tracks, and artificial molecular machines that can act as nano-robots, synthesizing complex polymers of a particular sequence.
Planned Impact
It is widely recognised that nanotechnology has strong socioeconomic relevance for all industrialised nations in both the near and long term. It is anticipated that applications of functional nanoscale systems will help reduced demand for materials, accelerate and improve drug discovery, reduce power requirements, facilitate recycling, reduce life-cycle costs and increase miniaturisation. In doing so, in the UK it will help address the needs of our citizens and contribute to competitiveness and sustainable development objectives, public health, employment, energy, transport and security.The main route to economic impact of this work programme will be through the revolutionary advances in synthesis, molecular design and thinking that this programme will bring about.
Organisations
Publications
Ayme JF
(2013)
Template synthesis of molecular knots.
in Chemical Society reviews
Ayme JF
(2012)
Pentameric circular iron(II) double helicates and a molecular pentafoil knot.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Ayme JF
(2011)
A synthetic molecular pentafoil knot.
in Nature chemistry
Baggerman J
(2013)
Induction of motion in a synthetic molecular machine: effect of tuning the driving force.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Ballesteros B
(2010)
Synthesis, structure, and dynamic properties of hybrid organic-inorganic rotaxanes.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Barran PE
(2011)
Active-metal template synthesis of a molecular trefoil knot.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Barrell MJ
(2011)
Light-driven transport of a molecular walker in either direction along a molecular track.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Beves JE
(2010)
Interlocked molecules: Linking rings without templates.
in Nature chemistry
Beves JE
(2011)
Strategies and tactics for the metal-directed synthesis of rotaxanes, knots, catenanes, and higher order links.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Beves JE
(2013)
Tetrameric cyclic double helicates as a scaffold for a molecular Solomon link.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Blanco V
(2012)
A rotaxane-based switchable organocatalyst.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Blight BA
(2011)
An AAAA-DDDD quadruple hydrogen-bond array.
in Nature chemistry
Bodis P
(2011)
Bimodal dynamics of mechanically constrained hydrogen bonds revealed by vibrational photon echoes.
in The Journal of chemical physics
Burns R
(2020)
Quantifying Through-Space Substituent Effects
in Angewandte Chemie
Burns RJ
(2020)
Quantifying Through-Space Substituent Effects.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Campaña AG
(2012)
A small molecule that walks non-directionally along a track without external intervention.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Carlone A
(2012)
A three-compartment chemically-driven molecular information ratchet.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Cheng HM
(2011)
En route to a molecular sheaf: active metal template synthesis of a [3]rotaxane with two axles threaded through one ring.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Crowley JD
(2010)
An unusual nickel-copper-mediated alkyne homocoupling reaction for the active-template synthesis of [2]rotaxanes.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
D'Souza DM
(2010)
Nitrone [2]rotaxanes: simultaneous chemical protection and electrochemical activation of a functional group.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Erbas-Cakmak S
(2017)
Rotary and linear molecular motors driven by pulses of a chemical fuel.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Fuller AM
(2010)
Sequence isomerism in [3]rotaxanes.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Goldup SM
(2010)
Two axles threaded using a single template site: active metal template macrobicyclic [3]rotaxanes.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Hänni KD
(2010)
The application of CuAAC 'click' chemistry to catenane and rotaxane synthesis.
in Chemical Society reviews
Kassem S
(2017)
Stereodivergent synthesis with a programmable molecular machine.
in Nature
Leigh DA
(2010)
Improved dynamics and positional bias with a second generation palladium(II)-complexed molecular shuttle.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Lewandowski B
(2013)
Sequence-specific peptide synthesis by an artificial small-molecule machine.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Lussis P
(2011)
A single synthetic small molecule that generates force against a load.
in Nature nanotechnology
Martin CJ
(2017)
Enzyme-Mediated Directional Transport of a Small-Molecule Walker With Chemically Identical Feet.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Muchowska K
(2020)
Reconciling Electrostatic and n?p* Orbital Contributions in Carbonyl Interactions
in Angewandte Chemie
Muchowska KB
(2020)
Reconciling Electrostatic and n?p* Orbital Contributions in Carbonyl Interactions.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Muchowska KB
(2013)
Electrostatic modulation of aromatic rings via explicit solvation of substituents.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Panman MR
(2010)
Operation mechanism of a molecular machine revealed using time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Rijs AM
(2011)
IR spectroscopy on jet-cooled isolated two-station rotaxanes.
in The journal of physical chemistry. A
Rijs AM
(2010)
In trap fragmentation and optical characterization of rotaxanes.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Rijs AM
(2010)
Controlled hydrogen-bond breaking in a rotaxane by discrete solvation.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Von Delius M
(2010)
A synthetic small molecule that can walk down a track.
in Nature chemistry
Von Delius M
(2010)
Design, synthesis, and operation of small molecules that walk along tracks.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Von Delius M
(2011)
Walking molecules
in Chemical Society Reviews
Von Delius M
(2010)
Synthesis and solid state structure of a hydrazone-disulfide macrocycle and its dynamic covalent ring-opening under acidic and basic conditions.
in Organic & biomolecular chemistry
Watson M
(2015)
An Autonomously Reciprocating Transmembrane Nanoactuator
in Angewandte Chemie
Watson MA
(2015)
DNA modulates solvent isotope effects in a nanopore.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Watson MA
(2016)
An Autonomously Reciprocating Transmembrane Nanoactuator.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Watson MA
(2016)
Man-made molecular machines: membrane bound.
in Chemical Society reviews
Description | The project established firm foundations on how to make (interlocked) architectures for molecular machines and control their dynamics. It also provided proof-of-principle demonstrations of how to use synthetic molecular machines for complex task performance, e.g. basic switchable catalysts and the 1st generation ribosome mimic. Please see also the Key Findings of EPSRC Grant EP/H021620/2. |
Exploitation Route | This research programme has expanded our understanding of mechanically interlocked architectures and how to use these systems to make more advanced and more functional synthetic molecular machines, including molecular motors driven by chemical fuels, synthetic molecular structures that can 'walk' down molecular tracks, and artificial molecular machines that can act as nano-robots, synthesizing complex polymers of a particular sequence It is widely recognised that nanotechnology has strong socioeconomic relevance for all industrialised nations in both the near and long term. It is anticipated that applications of functional nanoscale systems will help reduce demand for materials, accelerate and improve drug discovery, reduce power requirements, facilitate recycling, reduce life-cycle costs and increase miniaturisation. |
Sectors | Chemicals,Education,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | Please see the narrative impact of EPSRC Grant EP/H021620/2. |
Description | (MolMacIP) - Molecular Machines with Integrated Parts |
Amount | € 2,471,095 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 786630 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 02/2019 |
End | 01/2024 |
Description | EPSRC Programme Grant |
Amount | £5,324,406 (GBP) |
Funding ID | Title: Molecular Robotics; Grant Reference: EP/P027067/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2017 |
End | 10/2022 |
Description | Transmembrane Molecular Machines |
Amount | £1,200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | TransPoreT Project ID: 336935 Funded under: FP7-IDEAS-ERC |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 08/2018 |
Description | Transmembrane Molecular Machines |
Amount | £1,200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | TransPoreT Project ID: 336935 Funded under: FP7-IDEAS-ERC |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 08/2018 |
Description | The Daedalus Lecture 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The concept of the Daedalus Lecture is that it delves into that grey area between science and fiction and seeks to encourage the audience to believe questionable solutions to everyday problems that may or may not exist. The lecture - open to the general public and aimed at a sixth form level audience - aims apply the basic Daedalus doctrine: think up something unknown but potentially useful and propose a cunning solution that might be, or there again maybe not, flawed. The intention is to challenge, enthral and engage the audience by suggesting outlandish applications of seemingly sound scientific principles. The second Daedalus Lecture was presented by Professor David Leigh on October 8th 2019. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://conferences.ncl.ac.uk/daedalus/ |