!!David Leigh - Biography
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Over the past two decades David Leigh's group have produced some of the first and most advanced examples—all be they primitive by biological standards—of synthetic molecular level machines and motors [[for examples see: Nature 406, 608-611 (2000); Science 291, 2124-2128 (2001); Nature 424, 174-179 (2003); Science 299, 531 (2003); Science 306, 1532-1537 (2004); Nature Mater. 4, 704-710 (2005); Nature 445, 523-527 (2007); Nature 458, 314-318 (2009); Nature Chem. 2, 96-101 (2010); Science 328, 1255-1258 (2010); Nature Chem. 3, 244-248 (2011); Nature Nanotech. 6, 553-557 (2011); Nature Chem. 4, 15-20 (2012); Science 339, 189-193 (2013)]. These molecules respond to light, chemical and electrical stimuli, inducing motion of components held together by hydrogen bonding and other interactions. A noteworthy example is the first synthetic hydrogen bonded molecular rotor (Nature 2003; ‘highlighted’ in Science 301, 438-439 (2003) and Angew Chem Int Ed 35, 1622-1624 (2004) and selected as one of the ‘Chemical Highlights of 2003’ by the ACS). An advance on this system, a reversible synthetic rotary molecular motor, was reported a year later (Science 2004). The first example of using artificial molecular machines to do work in the macroscopic world (transporting a liquid droplet across a surface and up a gradient on a monolayer of synthetic molecular machines) was a significant breakthrough which generated significant interest around the world (Nature Mater. 2005), as was the non-adiabatic experimental realisation of James Clerk Maxwell’s 140 year old ‘Demon’ thought experiment as a fundamentally new motor-mechanism for synthetic nanomachines (Nature 2007; selected as one of the ‘Chemical Highlights of 2007’ by the RSC).
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In 2010 he introduced the first artificial molecules that can ‘walk’ along molecular tracks, reminiscent of the dynamics and function of biological motor proteins such as kinesin (Nature Chem. 2010; selected as one of the ‘Chemical Highlights of 2010’ by the RSC).
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In 2012 his group described the one-pot self-assembly of a 160-atom loop pentafoil knot, the most complex non-DNA molecular knot prepared to date (Nature Chem. 2012; selected as one of the ‘Chemical Highlights of 2011’ by the RSC).
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In 2013 his group reported an internationally acclaimed synthetic mimic of the ribosome, arguably the most advanced synthetic molecular machine described to date (Science 2013; one of Science’s ‘Breakthroughs of the Year 2013’ and ‘Top Chemistry Moments of 2013’ by C&EN), and in 2014 Leigh reported the most complex catenane synthesized thus far, a Star of David catenane (Nature Chem 2014).