Descripción del proyecto
Robots pequeños que transportan cargas moleculares
Las máquinas moleculares se encuentran entre las moléculas funcionales más complejas y rigen prácticamente todos los procesos biológicos. La manipulación controlada de estructuras a escala molecular mediante robots programables para moléculas pequeñas podría abrir las puertas a una nueva era de nanotecnología molecular útil. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos ProgNanoRobot tiene previsto construir nanorrobots artificiales que puedan transportar una carga molecular de forma programable. El proyecto investigará métodos para manipular fragmentos moleculares usando un brazo robótico molecular, buscará los mejores sistemas robóticos programables para moléculas pequeñas y desarrollará un conjunto de herramientas de componentes de las máquinas robóticas. Esta nueva generación de robots moleculares podría contribuir al desarrollo de máquinas del tamaño de una molécula que puedan manipular sustratos a fin de controlar la fabricación molecular y la construcción de oligómeros siguiendo una secuencia concreta.
Objetivo
Molecular machines are among the most complex of all functional molecules and lie at the heart of nearly every biological process. The controlled manipulation of molecular-level structures through programmable small-molecule robotics is a fabulous challenge that could lead us towards the dawn of an era of useful molecular nanotechnology.
“ProgNanoRobot” project aims to design, construct and investigate the operation of artificial molecular nanorobots capable of transporting a molecule cargo in a programmable fashion. We will develop key methodologies needed to manipulate molecular fragments using a molecular robotic arm operating through the formation and cleavage of dynamic covalent bonds, building on a rotary switch in which the rotor and stator can be positioned with respect to each other. We will explore different component types to find the best programmable small-molecule robotic systems and develop a toolbox of robotic machine components. We will use them as the basis for molecular machines that can transport molecular cargoes of biological relevance over long distances and to select between different cargoes and move them between multiple sites on molecular platforms in either direction. Moreover, we will employ a chemical fuel that induces pH oscillations in the reaction medium to allow the autonomous operation of these systems, a key development to reach the full potential of molecular machines, which will enable them to work as effective molecular assembly lines.
We envisage that the domain of this new generation of molecular robotics will be useful for the development of molecular-sized machines that can manipulate substrates to control sequence-specific oligomer construction and molecular manufacturing.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
M13 9PL Manchester
Reino Unido