Morrow Sarah M, Bissette Andrew J, Fletcher Stephen P
Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2017 May 5;12(5):410-419. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2017.62.
Chirality is a fundamental property and vital to chemistry, biology, physics and materials science. The ability to use asymmetry to operate molecular-level machines or macroscopically functional devices, or to give novel properties to materials, may address key challenges at the heart of the physical sciences. However, how chirality at one length scale can be translated to asymmetry at a different scale is largely not well understood. In this Review, we discuss systems where chiral information is translated across length scales and through space. A variety of synthetic systems involve the transmission of chiral information between the molecular-, meso- and macroscales. We show how fundamental stereochemical principles may be used to design and understand nanoscale chiral phenomena and highlight important recent advances relevant to nanotechnology. The survey reveals that while the study of stereochemistry on the nanoscale is a rich and dynamic area, our understanding of how to control and harness it and dial-up specific properties is still in its infancy. The long-term goal of controlling nanoscale chirality promises to be an exciting journey, revealing insight into biological mechanisms and providing new technologies based on dynamic physical properties.
手性是一种基本属性，对化学、生物学、物理学和材料科学至关重要。利用不对称性来操作分子级机器或宏观功能器件，或赋予材料新特性的能力，可能会解决物理科学核心的关键挑战。然而，一个长度尺度上的手性如何转化为不同尺度上的不对称性，在很大程度上尚未得到充分理解。在本综述中，我们讨论了手性信息在不同长度尺度之间以及通过空间进行传递的系统。各种合成系统涉及分子尺度、介观尺度和宏观尺度之间手性信息的传递。我们展示了基本的立体化学原理如何用于设计和理解纳米级手性现象，并强调了与纳米技术相关的重要近期进展。调查表明，虽然纳米尺度上的立体化学研究是一个丰富且充满活力的领域，但我们对如何控制和利用它以及调节特定特性的理解仍处于起步阶段。控制纳米级手性的长期目标有望成为一段令人兴奋的旅程，揭示对生物机制的见解，并基于动态物理特性提供新技术。
