Chemistry imitating art: Borromean knot created

[Monique]

Published in Science, researchers decribe how they have made a molecule that is made up of three interlocking rings, also known as a Borromean knot. No rings are connected unless a third ring interconnects them.

They let the structure assemble spontaneously by specially designing the ring pieces made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen to organize around charged zink ions, after which they confirmed the formed structure made up of 6 zinc ions and 12 quarter ring pieces by analyzing a crystal with X-rays.

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995050

The Borromean ring, an icon of Nordic and Christian traditions, has been self-assembled at the molecular scale level for the first time. The new molecule, composed of three interlocking rings, provides another new component for future nano-devices.

For decades, chemists have been creating molecules with ever more complicated shapes. Two rings had already been made to interlock, by creating one ring and then building a second around it. A five-link chain has also been strung together.

But the Borromean ring - three rings entwined such that breaking one separates the other two - has proved elusive. It has been moulded in DNA, but only in a very wound-up form.

"The molecular Borromean rings became a kind of Holy Grail in recent years," says Fraser Stoddart, director of the California NanoSystems Institute in Los Angeles, where the molecular rings were created. "There was a bit of a friendly race going on to see who would get there first."

 

[Gokul43201]

Neat !

Though I think the speculation about nano-devices is there, just to be fashionable.

 

[ravenprp]

The team, headed by Stoddart and his colleagues, used a trick to assemble the rings spontaneously. First they designed two ring pieces made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, and added a third ring made of six zinc ions.

The ring pieces were designed to snap around the zinc ions, forming a chain of six zinc ions and 12 quarter-ring pieces. The molecules then self-assembled into the Borromean knot.

To confirm the structure, the team analysed a crystal of the molecule using X-rays. "The X-ray crystallography showed us that we had made exactly what we wanted to make," Stoddart says.

The Borromean knot is not only a beautiful and complex molecule, but it also has potential applications in nanotechnology. "It could act as a component in a molecular machine," Stoddart says. "It's like a cog in a wheel."

This groundbreaking research not only showcases the incredible capabilities of chemistry, but also highlights the potential for using art as inspiration in scientific discoveries. The Borromean knot, with its rich history and symbolism, has now been brought to life at the molecular level, opening up new possibilities for future advancements in technology and medicine. This achievement is a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of scientists, and serves as a reminder of the endless possibilities that exist when art and science intersect.