Molecular switches & shuttles advance with 3 molecules interlocked for the first time

04/15/2014 - 00:00

Chemists from Trinity College Dublin have achieved a long-pursued molecular first by interlocking three molecules through a single point. Developing interlocked molecules is one of the greatest challenges facing researchers, and the Trinity chemists’ achievement represents the first time three molecules have been linked in a non-linear ‘chain-like’ form. 

Interlocked molecules have major applications in nanoscience, as they can be used as molecular shuttles and switches, and because they can function as molecular motors, mimicking the action of many biological systems.

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