RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A synthetic tubular molecular transport system
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.03.22.436416
DO 10.1101/2021.03.22.436416
A1 Pierre Stömmer
A1 Henrik Kiefer
A1 Enzo Kopperger
A1 Maximilian N. Honemann
A1 Massimo Kube
A1 Friedrich C. Simmel
A1 Roland R. Netz
A1 Hendrik Dietz
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/03/22/2021.03.22.436416.abstract
AB We report the bottom-up construction of a macromolecular transport system in which molecular pistons diffusively move through micrometer-long, hollow filaments. The pistons can cover micrometer distances in fractions of seconds. We built the system using multi-layer DNA origami and analyzed the structures of the components using transmission electron microscopy. We studied the motion of the pistons along the tubes using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and performed Langevin simulations to reveal details of the free energy surface that directs the motions of the pistons. The tubular transport system achieves diffusivities and displacement ranges known so far only from natural molecular motors and realizes mobility improvements over five orders of magnitude compared to previous artificial random walker designs. Electric fields can also be employed to actively pull the pistons along the filaments, thereby realizing a nanoscale electric rail system. Our system presents a platform for artificial motors that move autonomously driven by chemical fuels and for performing nanotribology studies, and it could form a basis for future molecular transportation networks.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.