A Nobel Laureate in chemistry, Professor Jean-Pierre Sauvage, delivered the latest installment of the France–Hong Kong Distinguished Lecture Series.

The talk was titled “Molecular Machines in Biology and in Chemistry” and took place at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) on 11 April. 

Professor Sauvage said previously reported highly functional, complex systems had demonstrated the power of modern synthetic tools based on “template effects”, adding that promising materials, which had also been elaborated on before, contained interlocking ring compounds 

He said “molecular shuttles” were set in motion using electrochemical, photonic or chemical signals. The various approaches used for triggering the molecular motions were implied in various prototypes for synthetic molecular machines. 

The speaker is a Professor at the University of Strasbourg, France; and a Member of the French Academy of Sciences and Member of the European Academy of Sciences.  He received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The France–Hong Kong Distinguished Lecture Series is a series of high-profile lectures under the auspices of the French Academy of Sciences. It is co-organised by the French Academy of Sciences, the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, and CityU.