Researchers leverage their understanding of molecular motors to improve nanoscale artificial motors, aiming to bridge the speed gap between artificial motors and motor proteins.
DNA-nanoparticle motors are exactly what they sound like: tiny artificial motors that harness the structures of DNA and RNA to generate motion through enzymatic RNA degradation. In simple terms, they convert chemical energy into mechanical motion by biasing Brownian motion.
These motors operate via a mechanism known as the “burnt-bridge” Brownian ratchet. In this process, the motor moves forward as it “burns” the molecular bonds (or “bridges”) it encounters along its…