Although this field is still in its early stages, its potential applications are becoming increasingly clear. One of the most promising is the precise delivery of drugs and active compounds to specific sites in the body \u2013 for example, directly to cancer cells \u2013 while leaving healthy tissue unharmed. Other possible uses include smart materials, membranes, absorbents, and thin-film filters designed for energy-efficient separation processes such as molecular sieving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A molecular motor works on a simple principle: one part rotates relative to another around an axis. The stationary component, known as the stator, is typically anchored to a surface, while the moving part \u2013 the rotor \u2013 rotates freely. The axis connecting them is a fragment of the molecule, such as two carbon atoms connected by a double bond (an alkene). Until recently, these nanoscale motors were driven mainly by UV light. Now, Dr. Wojciech Danowski shows they can also be powered effectively by radiation in the visible light range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReplacing UV light with visible light significantly extends the lifetime of molecular machines, improves their efficiency, and, in biological applications, reduces toxicity while allowing light to penetrate tissues more safely. Anyone who has ever spent too much time in the sun knows how harmful UV radiation can be,\u201d says the University of Warsaw researcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another milestone in unlocking the full potential of molecular machines is expanding their functionality to include remote control of their operation. In her research based on quantum chemical simulations, Dr. Joanna Jankowska has shown that an external electric field can steer the direction of a molecular motor\u2019s rotation. This effect is tied to chirality \u2013 a property of molecules whose mirror images cannot be superimposed \u2013 like left and right hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a major step forward because changing chirality is not something chemistry easily allows. It usually requires full-scale chemical intervention \u2013 adding a reagent, carrying out a quantitative reaction, and then removing it. In our work, we redesigned the motor so that its direction of rotation can be switched with an electric field pulse. This is the first time it has been achieved without chemical modification,\u201d emphasizes Dr. Jankowska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using physical stimuli to control molecular motors opens up entirely new prospects for their practical applications. Light-driven motors differ significantly from chemically controlled ones, primarily due to the irreversible nature of photochemical processes at the microscale. In contrast, classical chemical reactions tend to be reversible and governed by equilibrium, which makes it more difficult to design unidirectional nanomachines. Photochemical processes are not subject to these limitations, enabling exceptionally high unidirectionality and precision of motion \u2013 only one error in tens of millions of rotations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStill, the biggest hurdle is moving this technology beyond the lab and into real-world use. For now, we mainly work under tightly controlled conditions, but the potential applications are broad \u2013 from medicine and materials science to smart energy systems. We\u2019re only at the very beginning of this path, but the direction is clear,\u201d says Dr. Danowski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ability to reverse the rotation of a molecular motor using an electric field is a genuine breakthrough, allowing fast, remote control without any physical contact or chemical intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf something rotates clockwise, the natural question is: can we make it rotate counterclockwise instead \u2013 just as you would with a toy or a machine? That curiosity was really the starting point for this work: a sense that it simply had to be possible somehow. Scientifically, it turned out to be challenging, but I believe we managed to achieve it,\u201d concludes Dr. Jankowska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"](\"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/General-strategy-for-boosting-the-performance-of-speed-tunable-rotary-molecular-motors-with-visible-light-Karolina-Dudzinska-1024x391-1.webp\")
An innovative way to control molecular motors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Schematic](\"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fig1-1-1024x724-1.webp\")
The groundbreaking research<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n