Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Nat Commun. 2018 May 18;9(1):1984. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04249-x.
Stimuli-controlled motion at the molecular level has fascinated chemists already for several decades. Taking inspiration from the myriad of dynamic and machine-like functions in nature, a number of strategies have been developed to control motion in purely synthetic systems. Unidirectional rotary motion, such as is observed in ATP synthase and other motor proteins, remains highly challenging to achieve. Current artificial molecular motor systems rely on intrinsic asymmetry or a specific sequence of chemical transformations. Here, we present an alternative design in which the rotation is directed by a chiral guest molecule, which is able to bind non-covalently to a light-responsive receptor. It is demonstrated that the rotary direction is governed by the guest chirality and hence, can be selected and changed at will. This feature offers unique control of directional rotation and will prove highly important in the further development of molecular machinery.
分子水平上的刺激控制运动已经让化学家着迷了几十年。受自然界中无数动态和机器般功能的启发，人们已经开发出了许多控制纯合成系统中运动的策略。单向旋转运动，如在 ATP 合酶和其他马达蛋白中观察到的那样，仍然极具挑战性。目前的人工分子马达系统依赖于内在的不对称性或特定的化学转化序列。在这里，我们提出了一种替代设计，其中旋转由手性客体分子引导，该分子能够非共价结合到光响应受体上。实验证明，旋转方向由客体手性决定，因此可以随意选择和改变。这一特性提供了对定向旋转的独特控制，这将在分子机械的进一步发展中证明是非常重要的。
