Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.135, No.41, 15330-15333, 2013
Authorizing Multiple Chemical Passwords by a Combinatorial Molecular Keypad Lock
A combinatorial fluorescent molecular sensor operates as a highly efficient molecular security system. The ability of a pattern-generating molecule to process diverse sets of chemical inputs, discriminate among their concentrations, and form multivalent and kinetically stable complexes is demonstrated as a powerful tool for processing a wide range of chemical "passwords" of different lengths. This system thus indicates the potential for obtaining unbreakable combination locks at the molecular scale.