Molecular and Mesoscopic Self-Assembly

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This research project explores the non-covalent chemistry of molecules and materials. The design and characterization of aggregates of molecules or small objects held together by non-covalent interactions will be undertaken and understood through the principles of physical organic chemistry. In particular, meso-scale particles at interfaces and in suspension, oligovalent species in solution, and molecular crystals will be studied in order to develop unifying principles extending those being uncovered in the areas of molecular self-assembly and supramolecular chemistry.With this Award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry and the Solid State Chemistry and Polymers Program of the Division of Materials Research jointly fund a research project to be carried out by Professor George M. Whitesides of Harvard University. This project explores the nature of binding interactions that occur between molecules and aggregates thereof, in order to better understand the reasons why definite shapes are sometimes adopted, and why some interactions are stronger than others. One example involves the extraordinarily tight binding of certain bacterial peptides by the antibiotic vancomycin. Another involves the prediction of solid state structures of organic crystals, an important class of materials with new applications emerging in areas from optoelectronics to drug bioavailability.