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Molecular sorters are hypothetical nanomachines that separate certain types of molecules from solution. Molecular sorters could be used as a highly efficient method of purification. In the above model, the green molecules bind strongly to the receptors (represented by the white particles) distributed along the edge of a rotor driven by external forces. The purple molecules do not bind to the receptors. A stronger receptor is placed to the right of the sorting rotor to pull bound molecules out of the rotor's receptors. The simulation shows a highly selective transport of molecules through the sorter.
Purification devices such as this theoretical molecular sorter is critically important in future nanotechnology, because the process of manufacturing nanomachines at molecular level rests greatly on whether or not pure reagent moieties can be obtained accurately. |
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