Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
08:15
Quantification of Endosome and Lysosome Motilities in Cultured Neurons Using Fluorescent Probes
Published on: May 22, 2017
8.4K
Motility of Enzyme-Powered Vesicles
Nano Letters
|August 21, 2019
Summary
Enzyme-powered nanovehicles demonstrate autonomous movement by harnessing chemical energy. Their motility increases with enzymatic activity, offering a model for active cellular transport.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Biophysics
Background:
- Autonomous nanovehicles are being developed as active delivery agents.
- Biocompatibility of nanovehicle components is crucial for in vivo applications.
- Enzymes and phospholipid vesicles offer biocompatible solutions for nanovehicle engines and cargo.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the autonomous movement of vesicles with membrane-bound enzymes.
- To explore the relationship between enzymatic turnover rate and vesicle motility.
- To model active membrane dynamics and cellular movement.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-powered vesicles were engineered with membrane-bound enzymes.
- The movement of vesicles was studied in the presence of enzyme substrates.
- Optical microscopy was used for real-time tracking of vesicle motion.
Main Results:
- Vesicles exhibited autonomous movement when enzymes were bound to their membranes and substrate was present.
- Vesicle motility was directly correlated with the enzymatic turnover rate.
- Enhanced diffusion of these enzyme-powered systems was observed and quantified.
Conclusions:
- Enzyme-powered vesicles can achieve autonomous motion by converting chemical energy into mechanical work.
- These protocell models provide insights into the fundamental mechanisms of active membrane dynamics.
- The findings support the potential of enzyme-driven nanovehicles for biomedical applications.
Related Concept Videos
02:34Enzymes
93.9K
Inside living organisms, enzymes act as catalysts for many biochemical reactions involved in cellular metabolism. The role of enzymes is to reduce the activation energies of biochemical reactions by forming complexes with its substrates. The lowering of activation energies favor an increase in the rates of biochemical reactions.
Enzyme deficiencies can often translate into life-threatening diseases. For example, a genetic abnormality resulting in the deficiency of the enzyme G6PD...
Enzyme deficiencies can often translate into life-threatening diseases. For example, a genetic abnormality resulting in the deficiency of the enzyme G6PD...
93.9K
01:19Enzyme Kinetics
103.8K
Enzymes speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy of the reactants. The speed at which the enzyme turns reactants into products is called the rate of reaction. Several factors impact the rate of reaction, including the number of available reactants. Enzyme kinetics is the study of how an enzyme changes the rate of a reaction.
Scientists typically study enzyme kinetics with a fixed amount of enzyme in the controlled environment of a test tube. When more reactant, or substrate, is...
Scientists typically study enzyme kinetics with a fixed amount of enzyme in the controlled environment of a test tube. When more reactant, or substrate, is...
103.8K
01:08Power
12.9K
The concept of work involves force and displacement; meanwhile, the work-energy theorem relates the net work done on a body to the difference in its kinetic energy, calculated between two points on its trajectory. While none of these quantities or relations involves time explicitly, we know that the time available to accomplish work is often just as important as the amount of work itself. For example, sprinters in a race may have achieved the same velocity at the finish, therefore,...
12.9K
01:16Gastric Motility
2.9K
Gastric motility is the coordinated contraction and relaxation of stomach muscles that convert ingested food into chyme, a semi-liquid substance ready for further digestion in the intestines. The process begins with the vagus nerve inducing the relaxation of the smooth muscles in the fundus and body of the stomach, allowing these regions to expand and accommodate up to approximately 1.5 liters of food and liquid.
Peristaltic Waves and Chyme Formation
Upon food entry, the stomach initiates...
Peristaltic Waves and Chyme Formation
Upon food entry, the stomach initiates...
2.9K
01:22Sums of Power
41
In definite integration, Riemann sums approximate the area under a curve by dividing it into subintervals and summing the areas of rectangles. When these approximations follow predictable numerical patterns, such as arithmetic or polynomial sequences, sum formulas offer a more efficient and accurate way to compute the result. In particular, the sum of consecutive integers, squares, and cubes plays an essential role in simplifying these calculations, especially when dealing with uniform...
41
01:22Instantaneous Power
884
Instantaneous power is important in electrical circuits, mainly when dealing with sinusoidal input. Instantaneous power, denoted as p(t), results from the multiplication of the instantaneous voltage (v(t)) across an element and the instantaneous current (i(t)) flowing through it. This relationship adheres to the passive sign convention and represents a fundamental principle in electrical engineering.
884