Pattern-generating unimolecular sensors are an innovative class of analytical and
computing systems that utilize inherent molecular mechanisms to create multiple optical
responses in a manner similar to that in which arrays of small reporter molecules
can be engineered to function as cross-reactive sensors. Pattern-generating unimolecular
sensors can detect and discriminate between a wide range of chemical and biochemical
analytes, and they can also be used in computation, where they function as molecular
logic devices utilizing chemometric analysis. This feature article summarizes the
various pattern-generating approaches and their miniaturization to a unimolecular
level in the fields of differential sensing and molecular computing.
Key words
unimolecular sensors - pattern-based detection - nanodevice - molecular computing
- molecular logic gates