ABSTRACT
The essence of chemical science finds its full expression in the words of that epitome of the artist-scientist Leonardo da Vinci: “Where Nature finishes producing its own species, man begins, using natural things and with the help of this nature, to create an infinity of species.” Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Lehn has used this quotation in giving his outlook on the future and perspectives of supramolecular chemistry.1 Supramolecular chemistry concerns both the investigation of nature’s principles to produce fascinating complex and functional molecular assemblies and the utilization of such principles to
generate novel devices and materials, potentially useful for sensing, catalysis, transport, and other applications in medicinal or engineering sciences.1-3
Examples from nature have strongly motivated the developments of supramolecular chemistry because natural evolution has led to incredibly functional assemblages of proteins, nucleic acids, and other macromolecules to perform complicated tasks that are still daunting for us to try to emulate. As an example, the 20-nm ribosome particle is a most effective supramolecular nanomachine, which spontaneously self-assembles from its more than 50 individual protein and nucleic acid building blocks, thereby impressively demonstrating the power of biologically programmed molecular recognition.4-6 Starting with the discovery of the DNA doublehelix structure, biology has meanwhile grown from a purely descriptive and phenomenological discipline to a molecular science. Recombinant DNA technology brought insights into the basic principles of many biochemical processes, and it has also opened the door to modern biotechnology. Today, we are able to genetically engineer relatively simple bacterial cells, and we are on our way toward tailoring complex organisms. In view of such revolutionary developments in molecular biosciences, it seems particularly challenging to fuse biotechnology with materials science, and in particular with the research on inorganic nanoparticles, composed of metal or semiconductor materials.7 The combination of these two disciplines will allow us to take advantage of the evolutionary improved biological components for generating new smart materials, and vice versa, to apply today’s advanced materials and physicochemical techniques to solve biological problems.
