scholarly journals An experimental study of the putative mechanism of a synthetic autonomous rotary DNA nanomotor

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 160767 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Dunn ◽  
M. C. Leake ◽  
A. J. M. Wollman ◽  
M. A. Trefzer ◽  
S. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Single Molecule Level ◽  
Autonomous Operation ◽  
Rotary Motors ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Dna Motors ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Dna Machines ◽  
Putative Mechanism

DNA has been used to construct a wide variety of nanoscale molecular devices. Inspiration for such synthetic molecular machines is frequently drawn from protein motors, which are naturally occurring and ubiquitous. However, despite the fact that rotary motors such as ATP synthase and the bacterial flagellar motor play extremely important roles in nature, very few rotary devices have been constructed using DNA. This paper describes an experimental study of the putative mechanism of a rotary DNA nanomotor, which is based on strand displacement, the phenomenon that powers many synthetic linear DNA motors. Unlike other examples of rotary DNA machines, the device described here is designed to be capable of autonomous operation after it is triggered. The experimental results are consistent with operation of the motor as expected, and future work on an enhanced motor design may allow rotation to be observed at the single-molecule level. The rotary motor concept presented here has potential applications in molecular processing, DNA computing, biosensing and photonics.

scholarly journals Innovative Hybrid Materials with Improved Tensile Strength Obtained by 3D Printing

Biomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxana Mioara Piticescu ◽  
Laura Madalina Cursaru ◽  
Gabriela Negroiu ◽  
Cristina Florentina Ciobota ◽  
Ciprian Neagoe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tensile Strength ◽  
Hybrid Materials ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Ferroelectric Materials ◽  
Rheological Characterization ◽  
Single Molecule Level ◽  
Synthetic Polypeptides ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Ig Domain

Barium titanate (BT) and barium strontium titanate (BST) are one of the most studied ferroelectric materials with excellent piezoelectric properties, which can be used to stimulate bone formation by applying an electrical field. It is known that this ceramic is biocompatible and can be used for medical applications. New hybrid materials based on BT and collagen and BST and collagen, with potential applications in bone reconstruction, are presented, emphasizing the potential of fabricating 3D structures by integrating hydrothermal synthesis with additive manufacturing. Designing such structures may take advantage of rheological characterization at single-molecule level for some elastic biopolymers like titin and collagen and their molecular dissection into structural motifs that independently contribute to the protein viscoelasticity. Atomic force spectroscopy measurements on synthetic polypeptides showed that a polypeptide chain containing Ig domain modules is protected against rupture at high stretch by Ig domain unfolding, an important mechanism for stress relaxation in titin molecules. This property may be exploited to enhance the tensile strength of a 3D structure by adding specific synthetic polypeptides to the composition of the printing paste.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for Topography and Recognition Imaging at Single Molecule Level

2013 ◽  
pp. 102-112
Author(s):  
Memed Duman ◽  
Andreas Ebner ◽  
Christian Rankl ◽  
Jilin Tang ◽  
Lilia A. Chtcheglova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscopy ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Single Molecule Level ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Recognition Imaging

Curaxin-Induced DNA Topology Alterations Trigger the Distinct Binding Response of CTCF and FACT at the Single-Molecule Level

Biochemistry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 494-499
Author(s):  
Ke Lu ◽  
Cuifang Liu ◽  
Yinuo Liu ◽  
Anfeng Luo ◽  
Jun Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Dna Topology ◽  
Single Molecule Level

scholarly journals Power-law behavior of transcription factor dynamics at the single-molecule level implies a continuum affinity model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Garcia ◽  
Gregory Fettweis ◽  
Diego M Presman ◽  
Ville Paakinaho ◽  
Christopher Jarzynski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Dwell Time ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Power Law Distribution ◽  
Single Molecule Level ◽  
Binding Behavior ◽  
Chromatin Template ◽  
Nuclear Domains

Abstract Single-molecule tracking (SMT) allows the study of transcription factor (TF) dynamics in the nucleus, giving important information regarding the diffusion and binding behavior of these proteins in the nuclear environment. Dwell time distributions obtained by SMT for most TFs appear to follow bi-exponential behavior. This has been ascribed to two discrete populations of TFs—one non-specifically bound to chromatin and another specifically bound to target sites, as implied by decades of biochemical studies. However, emerging studies suggest alternate models for dwell-time distributions, indicating the existence of more than two populations of TFs (multi-exponential distribution), or even the absence of discrete states altogether (power-law distribution). Here, we present an analytical pipeline to evaluate which model best explains SMT data. We find that a broad spectrum of TFs (including glucocorticoid receptor, oestrogen receptor, FOXA1, CTCF) follow a power-law distribution of dwell-times, blurring the temporal line between non-specific and specific binding, suggesting that productive binding may involve longer binding events than previously believed. From these observations, we propose a continuum of affinities model to explain TF dynamics, that is consistent with complex interactions of TFs with multiple nuclear domains as well as binding and searching on the chromatin template.

Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Tool for Remote DNA Manipulations at a Single-Molecule Level

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 14458-14469
Author(s):  
Aleksey A. Nikitin ◽  
Anton Yu Yurenya ◽  
Timofei S. Zatsepin ◽  
Ilya O. Aparin ◽  
Vladimir P. Chekhonin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Nanoparticles ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Single Molecule Level

scholarly journals Tuning Single-Molecule Conductance by Controlled Electric Field-Induced trans-to-cis Isomerisation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3317
Author(s):  
C.S. Quintans ◽  
Denis Andrienko ◽  
Katrin F. Domke ◽  
Daniel Aravena ◽  
Sangho Koo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Quantum Interference ◽  
Single Molecule Level ◽  
Wet Chemical Synthesis ◽  
Single Molecule Junctions ◽  
Tunnelling Microscopy ◽  
The Difference

External electric fields (EEFs) have proven to be very efficient in catalysing chemical reactions, even those inaccessible via wet-chemical synthesis. At the single-molecule level, oriented EEFs have been successfully used to promote in situ single-molecule reactions in the absence of chemical catalysts. Here, we elucidate the effect of an EEFs on the structure and conductance of a molecular junction. Employing scanning tunnelling microscopy break junction (STM-BJ) experiments, we form and electrically characterize single-molecule junctions of two tetramethyl carotene isomers. Two discrete conductance signatures show up more prominently at low and high applied voltages which are univocally ascribed to the trans and cis isomers of the carotenoid, respectively. The difference in conductance between both cis-/trans- isomers is in concordance with previous predictions considering π-quantum interference due to the presence of a single gauche defect in the trans isomer. Electronic structure calculations suggest that the electric field polarizes the molecule and mixes the excited states. The mixed states have a (spectroscopically) allowed transition and, therefore, can both promote the cis-isomerization of the molecule and participate in electron transport. Our work opens new routes for the in situ control of isomerisation reactions in single-molecule contacts.

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