Researchers from CICA are participating in a European study on the formation of molecular assemblies

Iago Neura, Marcos García, and Carlos Peinador, researchers from the Supramolecular Engineering Group (SUPREN) at CICA—a centre that is part of the CIGUS Network, an initiative promoted by the Xunta de Galicia that brings together institutions recognized for their scientific excellence—participated in a study led by Professor Alberto Credi from the University of Bologna (Italy), which has just been published in the scientific journal Chem.

This project is the result of a collaboration between the Departments of Industrial Chemistry Toso Montanari, Chemistry Ciamician, and Agricultural and Food Sciences and Technologies at Alma Mater, the University of A Coruña, and the Isof-CNR Institute in Bologna.

SUPREN’s research focuses on the generation of self-assembled systems that respond to stimuli such as light. Their primary research areas include the study of host-guest systems responsive to external stimuli and self-assembly processes for implementation in molecular machines, smart catalysts and controlled drug delivery systems.

By leveraging a combination of light-induced photochemical reactions and self-assembly processes, the researchers successfully inserted a linear molecule into the cavity of a ring-shaped molecule, adopting a high-energy geometry that is not possible under thermodynamic equilibrium. In other words, light enables the creation of a molecular “assembly” that would not be achievable under normal conditions.

This self-assembly mechanism, coupled with a photochemical reaction, allows the energy of light to be harnessed for accumulating unstable products, paving the way for new methodologies in chemical synthesis and the development of dynamic molecular materials and devices (such as nanomotors) that operate under non-equilibrium conditions, similar to living organisms.

This innovative method could lead to the creation of new substances capable of responding to stimuli and interacting with their environment. These substances could be used to develop smart drugs and active materials.