Nanokinematic Devices and Systems

P. Famouri (FBBG Lead), Hornak CSEE, Gannett, Pharmacy, Carroll, Holland, Timperman, Chemistry, Wu MAE, B. Li, Ortho, Eric Blough, Marshall, Kazuhiro Kohama, Gunma University, Japan

Objective

Establishing protein-based biomolecular motors for electronically addressable nanoscale molecular cargo delivery systems to serve as chip-level molecular transport
Understanding nanokinematic phenomena and ability to control by micro-scale field and electronic signaling

Approach

Actomyosin (actin-myosin) for protein-based biomolecular motor systems
Isolation of myosin from organisms accustomed to survival in harsh environments, polypeptide design for motility control
Integrated electrode structures under the assayed surface to establish discrete electric/magnetic fields localized on the micron scale as a means of regulating and achieving addressable molecular motility functions and transport
Fluorescence techniques to optically observe actin motion in assay

Accomplishments and Plans

Isolation and purification of heavy meromyosin (HMM) from skeletal muscles
Demonstration of the unidirectional migration and velocity of negatively-charged actin that are effectively being controlled by the electrode-fabricated device via the localized microscopic DC electric fields
Effect of actomyosin motion under various pH levels
Longevity of actomyosin system on various inorganic assay surfaces (such as SiO2, PMMA, etc.)
Future Directions
- 6 – 12 months: develop steering mechanism and capacitive sensing
- 1 – 3 years: develop testbed devices