Molecule-size Keypad Lock Developed in Israel

By Brian Turner

According to LiveScience website, Israeli scientists have created a keypad lock a single molecule in size. The lock only activates when it is exposed to a password, a sequence of chemicals and light.

The lock was developed by organic chemist Abraham Shanzer and his colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovat, Israel. A report of their work was issued online, in December 2006, via the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The technology could lead to the development of a new level of security for secret information. The lock may also be able to recognise when certain sequences of chemicals are released in the body - after exposure to a chemical or biological weapon for example.

Scientists could, in principle, develop molecular keypad locks that accept any number of different inputs. It could be used for more complex devices that respond, for example, only to long sequences of light pulses. The technology is expected to open up many new directions and possible applications.