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Nature 440, 163 (9 March 2006) | doi:10.1038/440163a; Received 8 September 2005; Accepted 1 February 2006; Published online 8 March 2006

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Molecular machines: Nanomotor rotates microscale objects

Rienk Eelkema1, Michael M. Pollard1, Javier Vicario1, Nathalie Katsonis1, Blanca Serrano Ramon2, Cees W. M. Bastiaansen2, Dirk J. Broer2,3 & Ben L. Feringa1

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A molecular motor in a liquid-crystal film uses light to turn items thousands of times larger than itself.

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Nanomachines of the future will require molecular-scale motors1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 that can perform work and collectively induce controlled motion of much larger objects. We have designed a synthetic, light-driven molecular motor that is embedded in a liquid-crystal film and can rotate objects placed on the film that exceed the size of the motor molecule by a factor of 10,000. The changes in shape of the motor during the rotary steps cause a remarkable rotational reorganization of the liquid-crystal film and its surface relief, which ultimately causes the rotation of submillimetre-sized particles on the film.

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