What is a molecular device?
Molecular devices build on materials and systems whose structures and components as well as their physical, chemical or biological properties can be designed at a molecular level to efficiently perform a useful function.
A key feature is that the function of the device is larger than the sum of the properties of the individual components. Biology is based on different types of molecular devices being developed by nature throughout the geological time-domain. For mankind we are now meeting the scientific and industrial challenges to understand and create new types of complex and highly interacting molecular devices.
Biotechnology is a key area but also applications in molecular electronics, such as solar cells and organic light emitting diodes, are at present being industrially implemented.