Nanoshuttles driven by biological motors

Biological motors are used by cells to actively transport ions and molecules against concentrations thereby establishing non-equilibrium conditions that are essential for many life processes. Borrowing from nature, we are developing insights into how to engineer nanoscale transport systems based on the biological motors kinesin and microtubules. Molecular shuttle systems may enhance the detection efficiency of analytical microfluidic systems or facilitate the controlled assembly of sophisticated nanostructures if transport can be coordinated along complex track networks. Methods have been developed to control the speed of the nanoshuttles with light, and we evaluated how various synthetic polymers affect the lifetime of these biomolecules embedded in integrated hybrid devices. We could also show that kinesin-driven transport can be utilized to drive the self-assembly of mesoscopic structures that would not form in the absence of active transport.