Whitesides G M, Mathias J P, Seto C T
Department of Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Science. 1991 Nov 29;254(5036):1312-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1962191.
Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules under equilibrium conditions into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates joined by noncovalent bonds. Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in biological systems and underlies the formation of a wide variety of complex biological structures. Understanding self-assembly and the associated noncovalent interactions that connect complementary interacting molecular surfaces in biological aggregates is a central concern in structural biochemistry. Self-assembly is also emerging as a new strategy in chemical synthesis, with the potential of generating nonbiological structures with dimensions of 1 to 10(2) nanometers (with molecular weights of 10(4) to 10(10) daltons). Structures in the upper part of this range of sizes are presently inaccessible through chemical synthesis, and the ability to prepare them would open a route to structures comparable in size (and perhaps complementary in function) to those that can be prepared by microlithography and other techniques of microfabrication.
分子自组装是指分子在平衡条件下自发缔合形成通过非共价键连接的稳定、结构明确的聚集体。分子自组装在生物系统中普遍存在，是多种复杂生物结构形成的基础。理解自组装以及生物聚集体中连接互补相互作用分子表面的相关非共价相互作用是结构生物化学的核心关注点。自组装也正在成为化学合成中的一种新策略，具有生成尺寸为1至10²纳米（分子量为10⁴至10¹⁰道尔顿）的非生物结构的潜力。目前通过化学合成无法获得该尺寸范围上限的结构，而制备这些结构的能力将开辟一条通往尺寸（可能在功能上互补）与通过微光刻和其他微加工技术所能制备的结构相当的结构的途径。
