Communicating chemical congregation : a molecular AND logic gate with three chemical inputs as a “lab-on-a-molecule” prototype

Abstract

Several major phenomena in different fields require the presence of more than two independent variables. The concept of volume depends on the third spatial dimension.1 Signal amplification in electronic devices, such as in transistors, requires a third terminal.2 The old adage “two’s company, three’s a crowd”3 reminds us that congregations start with three entities. We now present the first AND logic gate4-6 driven by three chemical inputs as a direct way of detecting congregations of chemical species.