© 1999 Robert A. Freitas Jr. All Rights Reserved.

Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities, Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, TX, 1999

3.4 Receptor-Based Transport

The most efficient of all modes of molecular transport involves receptor sites capable of recognizing and selectively binding specific molecular species. Many receptors reliably bind only a single molecular type; others, such as sugar transporters, can recognize and transport several related sugar molecule types. In nanomechanical systems, artificial binding sites of almost arbitrary size, shape, and electronic charge may be created and employed in the construction of a variety of highly efficient molecular sortation and transport devices, described below. A discussion of binding sites and receptor engineering follows in Section 3.5.

Last updated on 7 February 2003