
In biological systems, molecular motors are vital to the survival and function of cells, converting chemical energy into mechanical energy. The objective of our research is to design, create, simulate, and measure the performance of synthetic protein motors that mimic these biological nanomotors in a controlled environment. This talk first introduces the following two topics: the mode of action and fundamental properties of the biological stepping motor, Kinesin and the modes of action and external energy sources of three of our synthetic protein nanomotors, known as the Tumbleweed (TW) motor, the SKIP (Synthetic Kinesin Inspired Protein) persistent walker and its motor analogue, and the Inchworm (IW) motor, a DNA-based motor that walks inside a nanochannel coated with proteins. Rather than transducing chemical energy (from ATP) into mechanical energy, the motion of these motor constructs is controlled by changes in chemical potential: pulses of ligands activate and deactivate binding of repressor proteins onto sites on DNA. Next there is a description of how the mode of action and fundamental properties of biological nanomotors is reflected in the design of these synthetic nanomotor constructs. Numerical Langevin simulations are used to investigate the possible use of SKIP as a molecular shuttle and the manner in which SKIP performs practical work, for example, dragging along an attached load. The talk concludes with a discussion of ongoing research.

In biological systems, molecular motors are vital to the survival and function of cells, converting chemical energy into mechanical energy. The objective of our research is to design, create, simulate, and measure the performance of synthetic protein motors that mimic these biological nanomotors in a controlled environment. This talk first introduces the following two topics: the mode of action and fundamental properties of the biological stepping motor, Kinesin and the modes of action and external energy sources of three of our synthetic protein nanomotors, known as the Tumbleweed (TW) motor, the SKIP (Synthetic Kinesin Inspired Protein) persistent walker and its motor analogue, and the Inchworm (IW) motor, a DNA-based motor that walks inside a nanochannel coated with proteins. Rather than transducing chemical energy (from ATP) into mechanical energy, the motion of these motor constructs is controlled by changes in chemical potential: pulses of ligands activate and deactivate binding of repressor proteins onto sites on DNA. Next there is a description of how the mode of action and fundamental properties of biological nanomotors is reflected in the design of these synthetic nanomotor constructs. Numerical Langevin simulations are used to investigate the possible use of SKIP as a molecular shuttle and the manner in which SKIP performs practical work, for example, dragging along an attached load. The talk concludes with a discussion of ongoing research.