Scientists from ITMO University and Trinity College have designed an optically active nanosized supercrystal whose novel architecture can help separate organic molecules, thus considerably facilitating the technology of drug synthesis. The study was published in Scientific Reports (“Chiral quantum supercrystals with total dissymmetry of optical response”).
Structure of the helical chiral supercrystal. (Image: ITMO University)
The structure of the new supercrystal is similar to a helix staircase. The supercrystal is composed of numerous rod-shaped quantum dots — tiny semiconductor pieces of about several nanometers in size. Importantly, unlike individual quantum dots, the assembly possesses the property of chirality. Thanks to this distinctive feature, such supercrystals can find wide application in pharmacology to identify chiral biomolecules.
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