Molecular self-repair

分子尺度材料将在许多复杂的应用中取代现有的微观结构，包括能量转换、先进的数据存储、化学和生化传感器、选择性催化和信息传递。在这种系统可以用于大型设施之前，必须考虑三个因素；即，系统必须由离散的模块自行组装，必须采用一种方法，以便修复有缺陷的模块，并必须找到某种方法，以确保模块可以回收。这一计划最具挑战性的特点是在分子水平上实现自我修复。一个明显的类比是生物系统，当它们遭受损害时，它们会自动感知并启动自我修复。我们在这里介绍了一种多方面的方法，以装备具有识别和定位损伤并建议修复过程可以被激活的路径的能力的功能化分子阵列。我们的工作必然处于原始阶段，我们寻求的无非是：(一)提请注意这一问题；(二)采取第一步，为今后的研究确定有希望的路线。借鉴自然，我们建议对分子冗余、储库效应、受损部件的切除和替换以及缺陷部件的原位修复进行平行研究。他们的长期目标是构建具有自我修复能力的智能分子材料，这种材料只需要很少的人工干预，甚至最好不需要人工干预。

Molecular-scale materials are set to replace existing microscopic structures in many sophisticated applications, including energy conversion, advanced data storage, chemical and biochemical sensors, selective catalysis, and information transfer. Before such systems could be used in large-scale facilities it is necessary to consider three factors; namely, the systems must be self-assembled from discrete modules, a methodology must be introduced whereby defective modules can be repaired and some way has to be found to ensure that modules can be recycled. The most challenging feature of this plan concerns the advent of self-repair at the molecular level. An obvious analogy is that of biological systems which automatically sense and initiate self-repair when they sustain damage. We introduce here a multi-faceted approach towards equipping functionalized molecular arrays with the ability to recognise and locate damage and suggest routes whereby repair processes can be activated. Our work is necessarily at a primitive stage and we seek no more than to (i) bring attention to the problem and (ii) take the first steps towards identifying promising routes for future research. Learning from Nature, we propose to make parallel studies into molecular redundancy, the reservoir effect, excision and replacement of damaged components, and in situ repair of defective parts. The long-term ambition is to build intelligent molecular materials with self-repairing capabilities that require very little or preferably no human intervention.