[WS8] Molecular Engines: From Biological Molecular Motors To Artificial Molecular Machines

[WS8-04] Synchronous operation of bio-molecular engines

^○Akira Kakugo (Dept. of Sci. Hokkaido Univ.)

Biomolecular motor systems are the smallest natural machines with an ability to convert chemical energy into mechanical work with remarkably high efficiency. Such attractive features enabled biomolecular motors to become classic tools in soft matter research over the past decade. For designing suitably engineered biomimetic systems, the biomolecular motors can potentially be used as molecular engines that can transform energy and ensure great advantages for the construction of bio-nanodevices and molecular robots. Synchronous operation of the biomolecular engines is one of the key criteria to coordinate them into certain different patterns, which depends on the local interaction of biomolecular motors. In this paper we present the recent results in the synchronized operation of biomolecular motors in engineered systems to explicitly program their interaction and further their applications. Such developments in the coordination of biomolecular motors have opened a broad way to explore the construction of future autonomous molecular machines and robots based on synchronization of biomolecular engines.