biostudies-literatureUnknown5(2)Schafer CMinistero dell′Istruzione, dell′Università e della Ricerca (PRIN project “InfoChem”)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of BolognaUniversity of BolognaUniversité Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris CitéThe transport of substrates is one of the main tasks of biomolecular machines in living organisms. We report a synthetic small-molecule system designed to catch, displace, and release molecular cargo in solution under external control. The system consists of a bistable rotaxane that behaves as an acid-base controlled molecular shuttle, whose ring component bears a tether ending with a nitrile group. The latter can be coordinated to a ruthenium complex that acts as the load, and dissociated upon irradiation with visible light. The cargo loading/unloading and ring transfer/return processes are reversible and can be controlled independently. The robust coordination bond ensures that the cargo remains attached to the device while the transport takes place.ChemistryOpen120-4https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC4906471biostudies-literatureAn Artificial Molecular Transporter.PMC4906471Schafer CColasson BCredi ASilvi SLa Rosa MRagazzon GfalseAn Artificial Molecular Transporter.The transport of substrates is one of the main tasks of biomolecular machines in living organisms. We report a synthetic small-molecule system designed to catch, displace, and release molecular cargo in solution under external control. The system consists of a bistable rotaxane that behaves as an acid-base controlled molecular shuttle, whose ring component bears a tether ending with a nitrile group. The latter can be coordinated to a ruthenium complex that acts as the load, and dissociated upon irradiation with visible light. The cargo loading/unloading and ring transfer/return processes are reversible and can be controlled independently. The robust coordination bond ensures that the cargo remains attached to the device while the transport takes place.2016-01-01T00:00:00Z2016 Apr2025-04-19T23:19:06.799Z2019-03-27T02:15:59ZS-EPMC49064712730822310.1002/open.201500217