Figure 1: Supramolecular nanofibre as a molecular rail for nanobeads.

(a) Chemical structures of lipid-like molecules 1, 2, FITC-lipid (3), Cy5-lipid (4) and Biotin-lipid (5). (b) Molecular models of lipids 1 and 5. (c) Schematic showing self-assembly of lipids 1 and 5 into a supramolecular nanofibre and binding of nanobeads to the fibre through a biotin–avidin interaction, which results in regulated one-dimensional motion.