| Over the past 3 decades, methods have evolved for manufacturing ordered systems at progressively shorter length scales; the resulting constructions now drive much economic and societal development. Although these technological advancements have grown mostly from engineering and applied physics, chemistry assumes an increasingly important role in the further development of molecular-dimension systems. Throughout this dissertation, a reoccurring theme coalesces: the role of the chemist emerges through his ability to manipulate structure on the molecular scale, to develop materials with predictable properties.;In this work, we present a series of developments characterized by micro- and nanoscopic constructions. First, we discuss the elaboration of a microcantilever-based device with bifurcate application to the biophysics of ligand-receptor binding and soluble analyte quantitation. The device is based on the competitive binding of soluble and immobilized ligand to surface-bound receptor. We have demonstrated proof-of-concept using a model system, although the methods fulfilling the immobilization requirements may be generalized for use with other systems.;Second, we discuss the importance of multivalency both in the development of small-volume pharmaceutical assays and in the context of aggregation---a process that is employed in the fortuitous discovery of biochemical systems exhibiting microscopic order. Bivalent carbohydrate-based ligands are synthesized on solid support and in solution for the assay of protein binding. Light, atomic force, and scanning electron microscopies are employed for the characterization of the macromolecular structures that result from protein-carbohydrate associations.;Finally, we test methodology relating to a novel soft lithographic technique that is applied to surface patterning of microscaled organic structures. The resulting features are characterized by fluorescence and atomic force microscopy and the potential for this methodology as a nanolithographic tool is discussed. Although organic synthesis appears as a leitmotif throughout these projects, the application of the resulting molecular architectures to problems in contemporary biophysics, drug discovery, and material science remain of farther reaching import. |
