Project description
Growing nature’s nanomachines
Life’s ability to harness local free energy for molecular work relies on complex protein machines, especially transmembrane motor proteins that drive essential processes like ATP synthesis. Despite significant research into artificial molecular machines, creating synthetic transmembrane nanomachines remains largely uncharted territory. With this in mind, the ERC-funded project MembraneMachines will design multi-component transmembrane nanomachines embedded in lipid bilayers. Using DNA technology and nanofabrication, the project aims to develop an electrochemical-gradient-powered nanoturbine, a versatile nano stepper for polymer threading and an artificial bacterial flagella motor for propulsion. By advancing nanomotors and nanoengineering, MembraneMachines promises to revolutionise nanoscale synthesis and nano-vehicle cargo transport, paving the way for innovative molecular applications.
Objective
A hallmark of life is its ability to utilise local free energy to do work at molecular scales. Such work is done by millions of sophisticated protein complexes that act as nanomachines. Prominent among these are the transmembrane motor proteins. They lie at the centre of life-critical molecular processes such as ATP synthase and bacterial propulsion. Despite the great attention creating artificial molecular machines has received across scientific disciplines, constructing artificial transmembrane nanomachines remains largely unexplored. Such transmembrane artificial nanomachines would give us direct access to one of life’s most universal energy sources, transmembrane electrochemical potentials, and enable us to design novel molecular machines for molecular catalysis, transportation, and cargo propulsion.
In MembraneMachines, I aim to realise a breakthrough by designing and building a series of multi-component transmembrane nanomachines that are embedded in lipid bilayers. Using DNA technology, nanopores, and nanofabrication, my team and I will design, build, and test:
1) an electrochemical-gradient powered transmembrane nanoturbine in biocompatible lipid bilayers to generate controlled conformational changes and power synthesis of life-critical molecules such as ATP;
2) an analyte-agnostic artificial nano stepper that can universally thread polymers through nanopores using self-assembled monolayers and DNA technology;
3) an artificial bacterial flagella motor that converts transmembrane ion gradient into translational propulsion, enabling a new direction in constructing and driving active nanovehicles.
Harnessing cutting-edge advancements in biophysics and biochemistry, “MembraneMachines” promises not just strides in the fields of nanomotors and nanoengineering but also introduces fresh perspectives on nanoscale synthesis, molecular manipulation, and dynamic nano-vehicle cargo transport.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsDNA
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- natural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciences
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiophysics
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
3000 Leuven
Belgium