Posts tagged as:

self assembly

Macromolecular Modeling
for Molecular Systems Engineering

April 16, 2009

Nir London of the Macromolecular Modeling Blog has invited me to offer my perspective on the field. After patiently waiting for me to complete it, he’s posted the resulting essay, which I have cross-posted below.
The Macromolecular Modeling Blog is hosted by the Rosetta Design Group, which offers molecular modeling services based on the Rosetta protein [...]

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Polyoxometalate Nanostructures

March 29, 2009

My technical talks often include a slide that shows several kinds of atomically precise components that may prove useful in composite nanosystems. One image is labeled “polyoxometalates”, a name that isn’t widely known. I think it should be.
Polyoxometalates (POMs) are molecular structures that are, in effect, atomically precise bits of metal oxide that contain [...]

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Effective Concentration in Self Assembly,
Catalysis, and Mechanosynthesis (2)

March 27, 2009

In my post on effective concentration, I noted that the concentration of water in water (about as high as a real concentration can be) is 55 M, while observed effective concentrations are often >55,000 M. This is puzzling until you realize that, for a molecular collision to result in a reaction, it must typically hit a target [...]

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Effective Concentration in Self Assembly,
Catalysis, and Mechanosynthesis (1)

March 22, 2009

I find that the concept of “effective concentration” helps to clarify my thinking about molecular processes that include catalysis, self assembly, and mechanosynthesis. The concept applies most directly to reaction rates, and it uses ordinary, solution-phase processes as a reference point.
Reactant concentration and reaction rate
In a relevant and typical case, molecules of type A react [...]

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Making vs. Modeling:
A paradox of progress in nanotechnology

February 25, 2009

Knowledge and know-how often go together. Where technologies are concerned, we tend to understand the things we make, and often can make the things we understand. This is a widespread pattern, but it’s important to recognize the exceptions, and nanofabrication is one of them.
There’s no necessary connection between understanding something and being able to make [...]

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What’s in the Vault?

February 22, 2009

They’re called “vaults”. They‘re in our cells, and in those of every* plant, animal, and fungus. Like ribosomes, they’re atomically precise self-assembled structures made of protein and RNA, but they’re big and hollow, large enough to pack many ribosomes inside. They’re relatively simple and symmetric: A vault consists of two identical halves, each consisting almost [...]

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From Self-Assembly to Mechanosynthesis

February 3, 2009

In an ongoing series, I’ve been discussing paths forward from today’s atomically precise fabrication methods to advanced molecular manufacturing. The posts that address broad topics are:
Modular Molecular Composite Nanosystems
Toward Advanced Nanotechnology: Nanomaterials (1)
Toward Advanced Nanotechnology: Nanomaterials (2)
Self-Assembly for Nanotechnology
In some areas I’ve discussed, lab research is active today; in other areas, research (at least, of [...]

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Self-Assembly for Nanotechnology

January 26, 2009

Everyone knows how to assemble things: Just grasp the parts and put them together. Self-assembly, though, doesn’t work at all like this, and as a consequence, it presents major challenges. Despite its inherent difficulties and limitations, self-assembly is the leading means for implementing atomically precise nanotechnologies today, and I expect it will lead for years to come. Self-assembly is a powerful method, and powerful enough to provide a path to nanotechnologies that are yet more powerful. Improving methods for making complex structures by self-assembly is an enormously important area of research.

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