An image showing the light excited by a molecular switch (yellow shape between the blue molecular layers that are the path) and the motion of the red molecule along the path. The background is a coloured image obtained with the optical microscope used to observe the movement.
An image showing the light excited by a molecular switch (yellow shape between the blue molecular layers that are the path) and the motion of the red molecule along the path. The background is a coloured image obtained with the optical microscope used to observe the movement. A molecular machine is a series of molecules that can conduct different mechanical movements as a response to a stimulus. This is a key structure for the development of different cellular functions. Professor Lluïsa Pérez-García, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the UB, took part in an international research led by the University of Nottingham, which has created a light-controlled artificial molecular machine. This study, published , is a first step for the development of a new family of these molecular structures with potential applications both in the field of nanomedicine and in the energy field. Imitating cellular molecular motors An essential part of the functions of the cells in living organisms is that molecular motors (a type of molecular machines) travel through molecular-specific paths.
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