Molecular machine
A molecular machine,[1] or nanomachine, is any set of molecules which produce mechanical movements (output) in response to specific stimuli (input).[2][3] The term is common in nanotechnology where a number of complex molecular machines have been proposed which might be a way of making a "molecular assembler". Molecular machines can be divided into two broad categories: synthetic and biological.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Fraser Stoddart and Ben Feringa for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.[4][5]
Biological nanomachines
The most complex molecular machines are made of proteins, and found in cells. These include 'motor proteins'. Examples are: myosin, (which does muscle contraction), kinesin (which moves molecules from the nucleus along microtubules), and dynein (which produces the beating of motile cilia and flagella). These proteins are far more complex than any molecular machines that have yet been made by mankind.
Probably the most significant biological machine known is the ribosome. Other important examples include motile cilia: "In effect, the [motile cilium] is a nanomachine [of] over 600 proteins in molecular complexes, many of which also function independently as nanomachines".[2][6]
Molecular Machine Media
Bacterial flagellar motor assembly: Shown here is the C-ring at the base with FliG in red, FliM in yellow, and FliN in shades of purple; the MS-ring in blue; the MotAB in brown; the LP-ring in pink; and the rod in gray.
The first example of an artificial molecular machine (a switchable molecular shuttle). The positively charged ring (blue) is initially positioned over the benzidine unit (green), but shifts to the biphenol unit (red) when the benzidine gets protonated (purple) as a result of electrochemical oxidation or lowering of the pH.
An example of a molecular balance reported in Org. Lett. 2011, 13, 16, 4320–4323 (image self-made using ChemDraw, inspired from publication, doi:10.1021/ol201657p)
An example of a molecular hinge reported in Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 15, 2595–2598 (image self-made using ChemDraw, inspired from publication, doi:10.1021/ol049082c)
Molecular logic gate example
Molecular dynamics ~1 nanosecond movie of rotation of a supramolecule composed of three molecules using a, in a confined nanoscopic pore (outer diameter = 6.7 nm) on a silver surface at ~ 250 K.
Molecular necklace example
A molecular propeller, a molecule that can propel fluids when rotated, due to its special shape.
Molecular shuttle illustration commons
References
- ↑ Rincon, Paul. BBC News Science & Environment. Robot surgeons and artificial life: the promise of tiny machines. [1]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Satir, Peter & Christensen, Søren T. 2008. Structure and function of mammalian cilia. Histochemistry and Cell Biology 129 (6) (2008). p. 688. doi:10.1007/s00418-008-0416-9. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ↑ Ballardini, R.. Artificial molecular-level machines: which energy to make them work?. Accounts of Chemical Research 34 (6) (2001). p. 445–455. doi:10.1021/ar000170g. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
- ↑ Staff 2016. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016". Nobel Foundation. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2016/press.html. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ Chang, Kenneth & Chan, Sewell (5 October 2016). "3 makers of 'world's smallest machines' awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/science/nobel-prize-chemistry.html. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ Bu, Zimei. Protein Structure and Diseases. Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology 83 (2011)Academic Press. p. 163–221. ISBN 9780123812629. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-381262-9.00005-7. Retrieved 2025-11-07.