Motility of an autonomous protein-based artificial motor that operates via a burnt-bridge principle

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45570-y
• Publication Date: 2024-02-23T11:03:02Z
• Authors: Chapin S. Korosec; Ivan N. Unksov; Pradheebha Surend...; Roman Lyttleton; Paul M. G. Curmi; Christopher N. An...; Ralf Eichhorn; Heiner Linke; Nancy R. Forde
• Keywords: 570; 0303 health sciences; 1.1 Normal biological development and functioning; Science; Molecular Motor Proteins; anzsrc-for: 3101 Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Q; Bioengineering; 3101 Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Article; Motion; 03 medical and health sciences; Nanotechnology; anzsrc-for: 31 Biological Sciences; Peptides; 31 Biological Sciences

AbstractInspired 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.