http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/special_issues/molec-machines/ Dear Colleagues, Nanotechnology, and particularly research into nanomachines and molecular machines, represents an exciting area of translational research. It is a very hot topic. Nanomachines are mechanical or electromechanical devices of nanometer size, and are largely in “research-and-development phase”. Current speculation has high hopes for the use of nanomachines in medical technology: whether to supply lost function to the immune system in detecting pathogens or as a smart surveillance system to detect toxic chemicals in our bodies or in our environment. Molecular machines are devices within our cells that drive essential biological processes, with the component parts of these machines each contributing a partial function or structural element to the overall machine. The multiple components act together to enable a cellular function. Good examples include bacterial flagella, the RNA polymerase, and various protein transport machines that selectively transfer protein molecules across biological membranes. A current innovation in nanotechnology concerns the design and manufacture of synthetic molecular machines, which may or may not have a biological machine as inspiration. The distinction between nanomachines and molecular machines is not always clear and our treatment of the “two” topics in this single volume is aimed at illuminating the complementary nature of these fields of research. Dr. Michelle Critchley Prof. Dr. Steven Langford Prof. Dr. Trevor Lithgow Guest Editors Related Special Issue in other Journals Molecular Machines and Nanomachines in Micromachines {snippet name="submission_info"} http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/12/4/2518/ Molecular machines are examples of “pre-established” nanotechnology, driving the basic biochemistry of living cells. They encompass an enormous range of function, including fuel generation for chemical processes, transport of molecular components within the cell, cellular mobility, signal transduction and the replication of the genetic code, amongst many others. Much of our understanding of such nanometer length scale machines has come from in vitro studies performed in isolated, artificial conditions. Researchers are now tackling the challenges of studying nanomachines in their native environments. In this review, we outline recent in vivo investigations on nanomachines in model bacterial systems using state-of-the-art genetics technology combined with cutting-edge single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. We conclude that single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence imaging provide powerful tools for the biochemical, structural and functional characterization of biological nanomachines. The integrative spatial, temporal, and single-molecule data obtained simultaneously from fluorescence imaging open an avenue for systems-level single-molecule cellular biophysics and in vivo biochemistry. http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/12/4/2518/ Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 CEST International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2011-04-15 12 4 Review 2518 2542 1422-0067 Functioning Nanomachines Seen in Real-Time in Living Bacteria Using Single-Molecule and Super-Resolution Fluorescence Imaging 2011-04-15 doi: 10.3390/ijms12042518 Sheng-Wen Chiu Mark C. Leake http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/6/2453/ The fabrication of increasingly smaller machines to the nanometer scale can be achieved by either a “top-down” or “bottom-up” approach. While the former is reaching its limits of resolution, the latter is showing promise for the assembly of molecular components, in a comparable approach to natural systems, to produce functioning ensembles in a controlled and predetermined manner. In this review we focus on recent progress in molecular systems that act as molecular machine prototypes such as switches, motors, vehicles and logic operators. http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/6/2453/ Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 CEST International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2010-06-11 11 6 Review 2453 2472 1422-0067 Advances Towards Synthetic Machines at the Molecular and Nanoscale Level 2010-06-11 doi: 10.3390/ijms11062453 Konstas Langford Latter http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/6/2421/ Throughout much of the history of biology, the cell membrane was functionally defined as a semi-permeable barrier separating aqueous compartments, and an anchoring site for proteins. Little attention was devoted to its possible regulatory role in intracellular molecular processes and neuron electrical signaling. This article reviews the history of membrane studies and the current state of the art. Emphasis is placed on natural and artificial membrane studies of electric field effects on molecular organization, especially as these may relate to impulse propagation in neurons. Implications of these studies for new designs in artificial intelligence are briefly examined. http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/6/2421/ Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 CEST International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2010-06-10 11 6 Review 2421 2442 1422-0067 Neural Membrane Signaling Platforms 2010-06-10 doi: 10.3390/ijms11062421 Wallace http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/4/1878/ The structural, coordinative, photochemical and electrochemical properties of the porphyrin macrocycle that make them the functional element of choice in ubiquitous biological systems, e.g., chlorophyll, cytochrome P450 and hemoglobin, also contribute to making porphyrins and metalloporphyrins desirable in a “bottom-up” approach to the construction of nanosized devices. This paper highlights some recent advances in the construction of supramolecular assemblies based on the porphyrin macrocycle that display optically readable functions as a result of photonic or chemical stimuli. http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/4/1878/ Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 CEST International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2010-04-26 11 4 Review 1878 1887 1422-0067 Porphyrinic Molecular Devices: Towards Nanoscaled Processes 2010-04-26 doi: 10.3390/ijms11041878 Latter Langford