Biomolecule-Templated Synthesis

A prevalent use for the nanoporous membranes detailed previously, particularly the highly ordered structure of alumina, is to fabricate reproducible nanoscale materials through a method called template synthesis. Briefly, the composition material of desired nanostructures is grown or deposited into a nanoporous membrane the new nanostructures are then separated from the original membrane via mechanical or chemical means. Dependent on the synthetic approach used, this process can produce nanoscale arrays " or individual nanostructures like wires, nanotubes or nanoparticles. Template synthesis also has been used to produce biological nanostructures through the deposition of biomolecules into nanoporous membranes. For a more detailed explanation on... 

If we consider natural synthetic processes, enzymes are seen to exert complete control over the enantiomeric purity of biomolecules (see Figure 8.2). They are able to achieve this because they are made of single enantiomers of amino adds. The resulting enantiomer of the enzymes functions as a template for the synthesis of only one enantiomer of the product Moreover, the interaction of an enzyme with the two enantiomers of a given substrate molecule will be different. Biologically important molecules often show effective activity as one enantiomer, the other is at best ineffective or at worst detrimental. 

Figure 7.1 Schematic representation of target-guided synthesis to generate a ligand (guest) templated by a target biomolecule (host) using the lock and key descriptors of Emil Fischer.

Finally, the synthetic component, after separation from the biological matrix, can act as a mould for the synthesis of biomolecules mimicking the functional or structural properties of the original template or as a molecular detector having preferential interaction with natural occurring macromolecules in some way similar to the template itself. 

Formation of molecular assemblies in ionic liquids provide a new dimension in the design of functional supramolecular polymers. It introduces new supramolecular interfaces in ionic liquids, which hold a key to the development of new functions. The introduction of microscopic interfaces also expands the area of ionic liquid research. For example, one-step sol-gel synthesis of hollow Ti02 microspheres was achieved in ionic liquids by the use of organic microdroplets as template [129]. Now biomolecules, molecular assemblies, organic, and inorganic polymers can be handled in the engineered solvents. A rapid growth of supramolecular chemistry in these particular media is expected. 

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