The Tumbleweed: towards a synthetic proteinmotor.

ABSTRACT: Biomolecular motors have inspired the design and construction of artificial nanoscale motors and machines based on nucleic acids, small molecules, and inorganic nanostructures. However, the high degree of sophistication and efficiency of biomolecular motors, as well as their specific biological function, derives from the complexity afforded by protein building blocks. Here, we discuss a novel bottom-up approach to understanding biological motors by considering the construction of synthetic protein motors. Specifically, we present a design for a synthetic protein motor that moves along a linear track, dubbed the "Tumbleweed." This concept uses three discrete ligand-dependent DNA-binding domains to perform cyclically ligand-gated, rectified diffusion along a synthesized DNA molecule. Here we

SUBMITTER: Bromley EH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2714957 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature