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Updated: Jul 2, 2025

Biophysical Characterization of Flagellar Motor Functions
Published on: January 18, 2017
Motility of an autonomous protein-based artificial motor that operates via a burnt-bridge principle
Chapin S Korosec1,2, Ivan N Unksov3, Pradheebha Surendiran3
1Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. chapinskorosec@gmail.com.
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.
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