TABLE OF CONTENTS " The constraints of predictability, stability, and positional control in the face of thermal vibration all favor the use of diamondoid covalent structures in future nanomachines. Present-day experience with design and computational modeling of such devices has generated useful design heuristics, including reasons for favoring diamondoid materials with many noncarbon atoms."
K. Eric Drexler
In this chapter, at first, a general discussion about molecular building blocks for nanotechnology is presented. Then, the remaining major part of the chapter is devoted to diamondoid molecules and their role as the molecular building blocks.
Diamondoids are organic compounds with unique structures and properties. Some derivatives of diamondoids have been used as antiviral drugs for many years. Due to their flexible chemistry, their exploitations as MBBs, to design drug delivery and drug targeting are being examined.
In this chapter some methods and concepts about the role of diamondoids as MMBs in formation of nanostructures including various aspects of self-assembly are introduced. The applications of diamondoid molecules in host-guest chemistry to construct molecular receptors through self-assembly are presented. It is concluded that diamondoids are one of the best candidates for molecular building blocks in molecular nanotechnology to design nanostructures with predetermined physicochemical properties.
Two different methods are envisioned for nanotechnology to build nanostructured systems, components and materials: One method is named the top-down approach and the other method is named the bottom-up approach [1]. In the top-down approach the idea is to miniaturize the macroscopic structures, components and systems...
