Toward the Realization of a Sarcomere-Like Machine

We report the progress toward the realization of a synthetic sarcomere-like machine consisting of an array of motor proteins, regularly distributed on an inorganic nano-structured surface, interacting with a single actin filament. The mechanical output of the bio-machine is measured by means of a Dual Laser Optical Tweezers system (DLOT, range 0.5-200 pN force and 1-10,000 nm displacement) under either nano-positioner control or force control (Bianco et al. Biophys. J. 101:866-874, 2011). The correct polarity of the actin filament (5-15 μm long) is controlled by attaching its barbed end to a trapped bead via gelsolin (Suzuki et al.