Active Rotaxanes as Processive Enzyme Mimics

Catalytically Active Rotaxanes as Processive Enzyme Mimics 

The rotaxane assembly is adopted by many enzymes that operate on nucleic acids and proteins. In the case of processive enzymes, the catalytic reaction drives the sequential motion of the enzyme on its polymeric substrate. Therefore, these enzymes can be viewed as molecular motors powered by chemical reactions and moving one-dimensionally on a track, in which fuel is provided by the track itself. An initial attempt to carry out processive catalysis with a synthetic rotaxane has been described [69]. 

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Thordarson, P., Nolte, R. J. M. and Rowan, A. E., Mimicking the motion of life catalytically active rotaxanes as processive enzyme mimics, Aust.. Chem., 2004, 57, 323-327. 

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