Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Supramolecular chemistry

Bigger and better synthesis

Nature volume 469, pages 39–41 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Nature constructs macromolecules with a precision that chemists have struggled to achieve. So a strategy that offers simple routes to large molecules, starting from small templates, could be the next big thing in synthesis. See Letter p.72

In 1631, the mathematician Pierre Vernier invented an instrument that could be used to measure lengths and angles with unprecedented precision2. The Vernier scale — a sliding, secondary scale that indicates where a measurement lies between two marks on a larger scale — makes it possible to measure minute differences in size using relatively large objects. The principle underlying the instrument is that the graduations in the secondary scale are slightly smaller than those of the main scale, so only the zero point and the last graduation match up with those of the main scale.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Vernier templates for macromolecular synthesis.

References

  1. O'Sullivan, M. C. et al. Nature 469, 72–75 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Vernier, P. La Construction, l'usage, et les propriétés du quadrant nouveau de mathématiques (1631).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Lindsey, J. S. N. J. Chem. 15, 153–180 (1991).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hunter, C. A. & Tomas, S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 8975–8979 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. McDermott, G. et al. Nature 374, 517–521 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hoffmann, M., Wilson, C. J., Odell, B. & Anderson, H. L. Angew. Chem. Int. Edn 46, 3122–3125 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christopher Hunter is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7HF, UK. c.hunter@shef.ac.uk,

    Christopher Hunter

Authors
  1. Christopher Hunter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hunter, C. Bigger and better synthesis. Nature 469, 39–41 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/469039a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/469039a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing