1. Motility of an autonomous protein-based artificial motor that operates via a burnt-bridge principle.
- Author
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Korosec CS, Unksov IN, Surendiran P, Lyttleton R, Curmi PMG, Angstmann CN, Eichhorn R, Linke H, and Forde NR
- Subjects
- Motion, Peptides, Nanotechnology, Molecular Motor Proteins chemistry
- Abstract
Inspired by biology, great progress has been made in creating artificial molecular motors. However, the dream of harnessing proteins - the building blocks selected by nature - to design autonomous motors has so far remained elusive. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of the Lawnmower, an autonomous, protein-based artificial molecular motor comprised of a spherical hub decorated with proteases. Its "burnt-bridge" motion is directed by cleavage of a peptide lawn, promoting motion towards unvisited substrate. We find that Lawnmowers exhibit directional motion with average speeds of up to 80 nm/s, comparable to biological motors. By selectively patterning the peptide lawn on microfabricated tracks, we furthermore show that the Lawnmower is capable of track-guided motion. Our work opens an avenue towards nanotechnology applications of artificial protein motors., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2024
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