A new route for sequencing complex macromolecules such as polysaccharides, RNA and DNA, which offers a quicker, cheaper and more reliable method than the existing methods, has been long desired. This has been achieved using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) to identify the position of an "aromatic bead" on a poly(ethylene oxide). These studies comprised three key areas, synthesis of the string-bead polymer model, the molecular recognition of host-guest system and a computational study of the dethreading process.