Above: The electron itself oscillates like a crystal assembly under a microscope. A crystal and oleate containing azobenzene derivatives show oscillations as electrons bend and straighten under continuous light at 435 nm. The stronger the light, the more the electrons oscillate.
Scientists at Hokkaido University in Japan have developed a molecular engine that can repeatedly bend and stretch when driven by light energy, bringing us one step closer to molecular robotics.
Now researchers are trying to make molecular motors move like living cells and even deliver drugs to target tissues. Making such a motor would lead directly to the development of molecular robots that can perform complex tasks. To do this, researchers had to find a way to translate molecular-scale motion into macro-scale motion, and to make the chemical reaction automatically continue and repeat itself.
Yoshiyuki Kageyama, Sadamu Takeda and their colleagues at the Department of Chemistry in
Hokkaido, Japan, have developed a compound that is a crystal component that automatically jumps when exposed to blue light.
The team combined the crystals into an organic compound called azobenzene. It is often used in the dyeing industry and in oleic acid in edible oils. Azobenzene particles are structurally of two different forms: cis and trans. They are constantly changing from one form to another in blue light. The scientists are examining whether this activity affects the structure of crystals containing large numbers of irregular cis - and trans-azobenzene - oleic acid.
By applying blue light to the crystals in solution, the team observed oscillations of bending and stretching under a microscope, suggesting the presence of two stable structures, bending or straightening, depending on the proportion of cis-azobenzene or trans-azobenzene. The stronger the light, the more frequent the oscillations. Some crystal complexes even exhibit swimming properties. The key breakthrough at Hokkaido University led to the discovery of the crystalline compound properties, however, given that the transformation process takes place in two steps, which would result in regular repeated oscillations.
"As we have observed repetitive fast flip movement, has the capacity to self-organizing rhythmic movement is a basic feature of an active organism," Kageyama said, "this principle will be used in the development of molecular motors and robots in the future, the same, will be looking for suitable for a wider range of applications, including medicine."
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