If we were to ask any scientist (or any person in general) “what is the biggest mystery of all time?” one likely response would be “how did life start?” Origin‐of‐life research seeks to answer this inquiry by understanding how the molecules that are essential for life – amino acids, nucleosides, sugars, lipids – came to be. However, from those simple building blocks to life itself, there are nano‐, micro‐, and macromolecular gaps. Thus, understanding how key molecules originated is just part of the matter. Arguably, the answer cannot be complete without knowing how those molecules combine and how the obtained compounds interact with each other in order to achieve the shape, size, and function that are necessary to achieve life itself. It is likely that any satisfactory response will be found within the field of self‐assembly. This is the process by which disorganized molecules spontaneously assemble into organized patterns. For millennia, nature has used inter‐ and intramolecular interactions to create the systems that support life: cells and cell membranes (made of molecules such as phospholipids and cholesterol), peptides and proteins (both made of amino acids), polysaccharides (derived from simple sugars), and the nucleic acids (made up of nucleobases, five‐carbon ribose sugars, and phosphate groups) which form deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Given the importance of self‐assembly in human life and also in medicine, electronics, and many other areas, we considered it necessary to assemble a group of experts able to introduce and discuss the field to a wide audience of researchers and science enthusiasts. We identified several experts whose contributions could offer a solid perspective of what self‐assembly is today. The identification of these scientists can be considered the origin of this work, which we titled Supramolecular Nanotechnology: Advanced Design of Self‐Assembled Functional Materials.
Supramolecular Nanotechnology. Chapter 3: Controlled Supramolecular Self-Assembly in MOF Confined Spaces
Rosaria Bruno;Donatella Armentano
2023-01-01
Abstract
If we were to ask any scientist (or any person in general) “what is the biggest mystery of all time?” one likely response would be “how did life start?” Origin‐of‐life research seeks to answer this inquiry by understanding how the molecules that are essential for life – amino acids, nucleosides, sugars, lipids – came to be. However, from those simple building blocks to life itself, there are nano‐, micro‐, and macromolecular gaps. Thus, understanding how key molecules originated is just part of the matter. Arguably, the answer cannot be complete without knowing how those molecules combine and how the obtained compounds interact with each other in order to achieve the shape, size, and function that are necessary to achieve life itself. It is likely that any satisfactory response will be found within the field of self‐assembly. This is the process by which disorganized molecules spontaneously assemble into organized patterns. For millennia, nature has used inter‐ and intramolecular interactions to create the systems that support life: cells and cell membranes (made of molecules such as phospholipids and cholesterol), peptides and proteins (both made of amino acids), polysaccharides (derived from simple sugars), and the nucleic acids (made up of nucleobases, five‐carbon ribose sugars, and phosphate groups) which form deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Given the importance of self‐assembly in human life and also in medicine, electronics, and many other areas, we considered it necessary to assemble a group of experts able to introduce and discuss the field to a wide audience of researchers and science enthusiasts. We identified several experts whose contributions could offer a solid perspective of what self‐assembly is today. The identification of these scientists can be considered the origin of this work, which we titled Supramolecular Nanotechnology: Advanced Design of Self‐Assembled Functional Materials.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
