An Artificial Molecular Transporter.
The transport of substrates is one of the main tasks of biomolecular machines in living organisms. We report a synthetic small-molecule system designed to catch, displace, and release molecular cargo in solution under external control. The system consists of a bistable rotaxane that behaves as an acid-base controlled molecular shuttle, whose ring component bears a tether ending with a nitrile group. The latter can be coordinated to a ruthenium complex that acts as the load, and dissociated upon irradiation with visible light. The cargo loading/unloading and ring transfer/return processes are reversible and can be controlled independently. The robust coordination bond ensures that the cargo remains attached to the device while the transport takes place.
Photochemical Nanosciences Laboratory Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician" Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna via Selmi 2 40126 Bologna Italy.
Christian
C
Schäfer
Photochemical Nanosciences Laboratory Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician" Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna via Selmi 2 40126 Bologna Italy.
Giulio
G
Ragazzon
Photochemical Nanosciences Laboratory Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician" Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna via Selmi 2 40126 Bologna Italy.
Benoit
B
Colasson
Photochemical Nanosciences Laboratory Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician" Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna via Selmi 2 40126 Bologna Italy.
Marcello
M
La Rosa
Photochemical Nanosciences Laboratory Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician" Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna via Selmi 2 40126 Bologna Italy.
Serena
S
Silvi
Photochemical Nanosciences Laboratory Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician" Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna via Selmi 2 40126 Bologna Italy.
Alberto
A
Credi
molecular machines; molecular shuttles; nanoscience; photochemistry; rotaxane