Fascinés par le fonctionnement des moteurs biologiques comme la kinésine ou l’ATP-synthase, protéines essentielles à

Achieving unidirectional molecular movement is a major challenge, often requiring molecular ratchets. Here, we exploit the unique 3D structure and selective functionalization of cyclodextrin to achieve unidirectional motion in a rotaxane system. The cyclodextrin enables one-way gate opening and promotes forward movement via a double-gated ratchet mechanism. These findings pave the way for more efficient rotary molecular motors in cyclic systems and could enable long-range translational motion at the molecular scale.

The achievement of unidirectional molecular movement is a significant challenge due to competition by Brownian motion. Nature can overcome this proble…