Molecular machines are among the most complex of all functional molecules and lie at the heart of nearly every biological process. The controlled manipulation of molecular-level structures through programmable small-molecule robotics is a fabulous challenge that could lead us towards the dawn of an era of useful molecular nanotechnology. “ProgNanoRobot” project aims to design, construct and investigate the operation of artificial molecular nanorobots capable of transporting a molecule cargo in a programmable fashion. We will develop key methodologies needed to manipulate molecular fragments using a molecular robotic arm operating through the formation and cleavage of dynamic covalent bonds, building on a rotary switch in which the rotor and stator can be positioned with respect to each other. We will explore different component types to find the best programmable small-molecule robotic systems and develop a toolbox of robotic machine components. We will use them as the basis for molecular machines that can transport molecular cargoes of biological relevance over long distances and to select between different cargoes and move them between multiple sites on molecular platforms in either direction. Moreover, we will employ a chemical fuel that induces pH oscillations in the reaction medium to allow the autonomous operation of these systems, a key development to reach the full potential of molecular machines, which will enable them to work as effective molecular assembly lines. We envisage that the domain of this new generation of molecular robotics will be useful for the development of molecular-sized machines that can manipulate substrates to control sequence-specific oligomer construction and molecular manufacturing.

I will construct and apply next generation capillary devices as an exciting experimental platform to enable ground-breaking investigation of structure and dynamics of water at the ultimate molecular scale. These devices are in a lab-on-a-chip type configuration with angstrom-scale channels and atomically smooth walls. I am making them by scrupulous assembly tools in a controllable and reproducible fashion and they are extremely stable. Myself and my team will assemble capillaries of a few microns in length, by sandwiching two blocks of layered crystals, e.g., mica, graphite, boron nitride, separated by an atomically thin 2D-crystal spacer. Inside these channels, we will image water condensation along with simultaneous structure analysis by spectroscopy, under in-situ (temperature, pressure) environments. Another key aim of the project is to produce 2D slit-like pores on a large scale by slicing the pre-made 2D capillaries using sharp diamond knives, and explore their applications in size selective separation and biomolecular translocation. This ambitious research program is only possible because of my extensive angstrom-scale fabrication expertise, coupled with world leading fabrication capabilities at the University of Manchester. Objectives 1: To utilize angstrom-scale capillaries constructed out of two-dimensional (2D) materials as a versatile platform for studying confinement effect on structure and dynamics of water. 2: To construct new types of angstrom-scale 2D-pores from these capillaries for studying size-selective molecular separation, biomolecular sequencing and translocation. The project will have a lasting impact in understanding what the angstrom-scale confinement offers in terms of active control of molecular transport. Such confinement effects are efficiently utilized in various natural systems (e.g., protein channels) and the results could even aid in designing elementary building blocks of stimuli responsive artificial fluidic circuitry

The prime research theme of this project is the study of short-lived exotic nuclei with laser spectroscopy. Over the next 5 years my team will study the role of three-nucleon forces and their associated influence on nuclear structure and the limits of nuclear existence. This work will investigate the interplay between tensor and central forces and the associated effect on quantum shells in exotic nuclear systems. This proposal will study how the shape of the nucleus is modified at the limits of nuclear existence. We will use innovative laser spectroscopy methods to achieve these goals. The project will be carried out at the ISOLDE facility, CERN, which is the premier radioactive beam facility at the precision frontier. The proposed research activity closely matches the NuPECC (Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee) 2010 Long Range Plan. The wider scientific impact of this research will influence modelling explosive stellar processes and nuclear synthesis, understanding the structure of astrophysical compact-objects such as neutron stars and predicting regions of enhanced stability in the super heavy elements. The FNPMLS project will develop ultra-sensitive methodologies that set a new paradigm in laser spectroscopy. It builds on the cutting edge technology of collinear resonance ionization spectroscopy (CRIS) that I have developed during my STFC Advanced Fellowship. The CRIS technique combines the high resolution nature of collinear laser spectroscopy with the high sensitivity of resonance ionization spectroscopy. The research programme and investment outlined in this proposal will place my team in a unique and world leading position. This work will happen in advance of the next generation of radioactive beam facility such as SPIRAL2, FAIR and FRIB and will provide the essential ingredients for future fundamental questions.