Scientists give insight into movement of molecules

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have made an exciting breakthrough in the control of the movement of single molecules. The findings represent a significant step forward in the field of molecular nanotechnology, which requires such control to achieve self-assembling nano-machines. This could potentially lead to the development of a method to send artificial drugs to their targets, or the creation of self-healing structures which could naturally repair tears in a surface. The research findings, published in the journal ACS Nano online on 23 September 2009, have demonstrated that by tailoring the nature of the surface upon which the molecules are moving, they can be made to move in a given direction, without the need for an external influence. At present, the control of molecules relies on external intervention. These findings reveal how and why a molecule chooses to move in a given direction, which provides scientists with a new technique to bring molecules together. The molecules could then form more complicated structures, or could even be used for the creation of self-assembling molecular machines.