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PreprintCC BYChemRxiv

A molecular sewing machine

  • Chiara Taticchi1,2,3,4
  • Axel Pinabiaux5,6
  • Lorenzo Marradi5,6
  • Jessica Groppi7
  • Silvia Spagnoli1,2,3,4
  • Anastasia Christoulaki8,9
  • Eric Buhler8,9
  • Mounir Maaloum5,6
  • Serena Silvi1,2,10,4
  • Massimo Baroncini1,2,11,4
  • Emilie Moulin5,6
  • Nicolas Giuseppone5,6,12
1 more authors
  • Alberto Credi1,2,3,4
12 affiliations
  1. 1Center for Light Activated Nanostructures (CLAN
  2. 2Bologna and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
  3. 3Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari
  4. 4Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna
  5. 5CNRS
  6. 6Institut Charles Sadron UPR
  7. 7Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
  8. 8Université Paris Cité
  9. 9UMR CNRS 7057, Physics Department
  10. 10Dipartimento di Chimica “G. Ciamician
  11. 11Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari
  12. 12Institut Universitaire de France (IUF
Open at sourceDOICite

Abstract

Living molecular architectures adapt and evolve by continuously exchanging energy with their surroundings. To mimic this behavior, synthetic tools have been developed to switch 25 artificial systems between states; however, these systems generally relax toward thermodynamically inert equilibria. Creating “life-like” synthetic materials that operate far from equilibrium therefore remains a major challenge. Here, we show that attaching light-activated supramolecular “pumping” motors to polymer chain ends enables the “sewing” of these chains with complementary polymer units bearing multiple macrocyclic side chains. This directional 30 entanglement is sustained by a dissipative, non-equilibrium process and generates mechanically bonded nanogels that transiently store the input light energy processed by the molecular pump. This strategy paves the way to active soft materials capable of functioning over time and performing work on their environment.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{taticchi2026molecular,
  title = {{A molecular sewing machine}},
  author = {Chiara Taticchi and Axel Pinabiaux and Lorenzo Marradi and Jessica Groppi and Silvia Spagnoli and Anastasia Christoulaki and Eric Buhler and Mounir Maaloum and Serena Silvi and Massimo Baroncini and Emilie Moulin and Nicolas Giuseppone and Alberto Credi},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008381/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008381/v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - A molecular sewing machine
AU  - Chiara Taticchi
AU  - Axel Pinabiaux
AU  - Lorenzo Marradi
AU  - Jessica Groppi
AU  - Silvia Spagnoli
AU  - Anastasia Christoulaki
AU  - Eric Buhler
AU  - Mounir Maaloum
AU  - Serena Silvi
AU  - Massimo Baroncini
AU  - Emilie Moulin
AU  - Nicolas Giuseppone
AU  - Alberto Credi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/06
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008381/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008381/v1
AB  - Living molecular architectures adapt and evolve by continuously exchanging energy with their surroundings. To mimic this behavior, synthetic tools have been developed to switch 25 artificial systems between states; however, these systems generally relax toward thermodynamically inert equilibria. Creating “life-like” synthetic materials that operate far from equilibrium therefore remains a major challenge. Here, we show that attaching light-activated supramolecular “pumping” motors to polymer chain ends enables the “sewing” of these chains with complementary polymer units bearing multiple macrocyclic side chains. This directional 30 entanglement is sustained by a dissipative, non-equilibrium process and generates mechanically bonded nanogels that transiently store the input light energy processed by the molecular pump. This strategy paves the way to active soft materials capable of functioning over time and performing work on their environment.
ER  -