SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- A U.S.-British team of scientists has developed a new family of molecules that are mechanically wedged together instead of being chemically bonded.
The team of researchers is led by James Fraser Stoddart, director of the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and David Williams, emeritus professor of chemistry at Imperial College London.
The researchers have named the novel molecular compounds "suitanes," based on their resemblance to a "torso" with two or more "limbs" that is completely enveloped in a one-piece "suit." The number of limbs is indicated by a number inserted into the name of the compound -- for example, a suit(2)ane has two limbs and a suit(3)ane has three.
"Discovering the way to dress a molecule with another one is a prelude to constructing artificial systems reminiscent of the living cell," said Stoddart, who grew up in Scotland. "The inspiration for the name came from looking at my grandson in a 'onesie,' an American term I had never heard before."
Onesies are one-piece garments worn by infants and very small toddlers.
The research is published this month in the German chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.
