A new light sensitive molecule that spontaneously arranges itself into a particular shape has been designed by European chemists. 

Piero Baglioni from the University of Florence, Italy, and colleagues from Italy, Sweden and France, have created the molecule by combining a photosensitive compound with a surfactant. These new molecules clump together like a detergent when dissolved in water and spontaneously assemble into discs. When exposed to light, the clumps change their shapes to become spherical.

This shape change is reversible and easy to control, say the researchers. The new material could be used in a photosensitive nanodevice that would capture and encircle smaller particles, only releasing them when stimulated to do so. 

One application of this material may be as an optical storage device, they add, where information can be stored or transmitted and is represented by the shape of the material.

Susan Batten