Motility of an autonomous protein-based artificial motor that operates via a burnt-bridge principle
Chapin S. Korosec, Ivan N. Unksov, Pradheebha Surendiran, Roman Lyttleton, Paul M. G. Curmi, Christopher N. Angstmann, Ralf Eichhorn, Heiner Linke, Nancy R. Forde
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.