jean-pierre sauvage, sir fraser stoddart andben feringa got science’s sweetest swedish phone call earlier today when they won thenobel prize in chemistry for developing synthetic molecular machines. what’s a molecular machine? well, i’m glad you asked. so here’s the deal. you may remember this video we made aboutnanorobots not too long ago. scientists are developing these little guysto swim around your stomach and blood stream to do things like deliver therapeutics orattack cancer cells.
these aren’t what won, but the machinesthat did claim the nobel prize work at an even smaller, more fundamental level. these super teensy molecule-sized machinescould help improve future nanobots and could also be useful in furthering computers, smartmaterials, and energy storage devices. let’s start with a bit of background. molecules dance around in all sorts of goofyways, using energy from the environment to wriggle, writhe and rotate. but it’s all very uncoordinated, very avantgarde. jean-pierre, sir fraser and ben stepped inand designed molecules that they could choreograph.
they became the dance commanders for individualmolecules. this story starts back in 1983. that's when sally ride went to space, michael jacksonmoonwalked, and jean-pierre created a catenane, two ring-shaped molecules linked into a ridiculouslysmall chain. adorbs. the two links are trapped inside one another,but they’re free to rotate around each other. thus, jean-pierre and his colleagues designeda molecule with moving parts that moved in a constrained or controlled way. that control was a consequence of the chemicaldesign of the molecule.
the field of molecular machining was born. fast forward to 1991 when sir fraser’s teaminvented a new kind of rotaxane, which is a type of molecular wheel and axle. in rotaxanes, a ring-shaped molecule loopsaround a dumbbell-shaped axle. in fraser’s rotaxane, the ring moleculeslides along the dumbbell, bringing a new kind of motion to molecular machines.thisopened the door to a wider variety of machines for chemists to cook up. ben claimed his share of this year’s nobelprize for stepping up our ability to control molecular machines in a big way.
he and his team developed a motor which consistsof a molecular rotor that spins in just one direction when powered by heat and light. unfortunately, it does not have a snappy namelike a catenane or a rotaxane. here’s what they called their molecule. i’m not even going to try. but thanks to these three chemists, we have alaundry list of super rad sounding molecular machines: molecular stirbars, molecular ratchets,molecular elevators, molecular muscles, even molecular cars. go little molecule car!
go! but let’s be clear, this is a prize forthe fundamental science that makes molecular machines possible. we haven’t seen any real-world applicationsyet. during c&en’s nobel prize predictions webinarlast week, stu cantrill summed it up beautifully. “the case for real-world applications ofthese molecules is hard to make, but they're just so clever/cool and it's incredible whatyou can force a molecule to actually do.†shout out to stu, who got his phd working with fraser.
anyhow, newly-minted nobel laureate ben feringacalled into the nobel prize announcement ceremony this morning and said he feels a bit likethe wright brothers right now. back in 1903, people didn’t know what todo with orville and wilbur wright’s wacky flying machine, but now we’ve got 747s soaringall over the durn place. similarly, engineered molecular machines couldreally take off as chemists find new ways to use them. what do you think about this year’s nobelprize? tell us in the comments section below andlet us know if you’ve got a favorite molecular machine. and be sure to check out the description fora link to bethany halford’s fantastic story
that dives even deeper into this year’saward. you’ll also find all the references forthis video there. thanks for watching. i’ma finish my breakfast now.
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