Inspired by nature's own building blocks, Purdue University researchers are using the same principle that makes DNA strands link together to create tiny structures that may someday be used to manufacture molecular wires and other components for use in nanometer-sized electronic devices. Here Photo caption below Purdue chemist Hicham Fenniri has created molecules designed to automatically find each other and link to form elaborate but tiny tubes. The new technique allows scientists, for the first time, to use self-assembly techniques to develop nanoscale structures with specific dimensions and chemical properties. The findings, which will be detailed in the April 25 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may help pave the way for designing new materials, electronic devices and drug delivery systems for use in the atom-size realm of nanotechnology. We not only dictate how the molecule behaves, but we also can control the dimensions and chemical properties of the resulting nanotube.
Nanotechnology refers to components only a few nanometers in size.
A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The nanotubes developed at Purdue are the first to use a self-assembly process capable of producing the tiny structures in large quantities, making the process more feasible for use. Self-assembly is a principle familiar in biology, where the right mix of biological molecules will interact on their own to form distinctive structures, such as cells, tissues and organs. Numerous rosettes then combine to form tiny, rod-like structures, or nanotubes. Created from elements that normally bind together, the molecule recognizes and wants to mate with itself.