title: Fullerenes: multitask components in molecular machinery.
abstract: Molecular machines are molecular-scale devices that carry out predetermined tasks derived from molecular motion. This Minireview illustrates how fullerenes can be used as multitask building blocks in molecular machinery, providing new perspectives for fullerenes. Indeed, C(60) can be applied as a photo- and electroactive stopper owing to its size, as a probe for molecular motion as a result of its well-defined physicochemical properties, and to induce motion through pi-pi interactions. Such molecular motion can be employed to modulate light-driven electron-transfer events, extending the potential applications of molecular machines to the typical fields of application of fullerenes.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche and Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), Unità di Trieste, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy. amateo@units.it
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mateo-Alonso
authors.forename: Dirk M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Guldi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paolucci
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prato
mesh_terms: D037741:Fullerenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D015335:Molecular Probes
chemical_list: D037741:Fullerenes; D015335:Molecular Probes; C069837:fullerene C60