Scientists have constructed the smallest flow-driven motors in the world. Inspired by iconic Dutch windmills and biological motor proteins, they created a self-configuring flow-driven rotor from DNA that converts energy from an electrical or salt gradient into useful mechanical work. The results ope
n new perspectives for engineering active robotics at the nanoscale. The paper by Delft University of Technology researchers will be published today inRotary motors have been the powerhouses of human societies for millennia. We can look back in history to the windmills and waterwheels across the Netherlands and the world. Today, advanced offshore wind turbines drive our green-energy future.
“These rotary motors, driven by a flow, also feature prominently in biological cells. An example is the FoF1-ATP synthase, which produces the fuel that cells need to operate. But the synthetic construction at the nanoscale has thus far remained elusive,” says Dr. Xin Shi, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of professor Cees Dekker in the department of Bionanoscience at Delft University of Technology .material. This structure is docked onto a nanopore, a tiny opening, in a thin membrane.
In a further step the group has used the knowledge they learned from building this self-organized rotor to make the next important advance: the first rationally designed nanoscale turbine. “Like how science and technologies always work, we started from a simple pinwheel, now are able to recreate the beautiful Dutch windmills, but this time with a size of only 25 nm, the size of one single protein in your body,” says Shi, “and we demonstrated their ability to carry loads.
“And now, the rotation direction was set by the designed chirality,” Dekker adds. “Left-handed turbines rotated clockwise; right-handed ones rotated anticlockwise.”Next to better understanding and mimicking motor proteins such as FoF1-ATP synthase, the results open new perspectives for engineering active robotics at the nanoscale. Shi: “What we have demonstrated here is a nanoscale engine that is truly able to transduce energy and do work.
Reference: “Sustained unidirectional rotation of a self-organized DNA rotor on a nanopore” 4 August 2022,
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Scientists Sequence DNA Found in Pink Snow That Covered Mountains'I've seen, in my lifetime, the disappearance of ecosystems on a scale not of 100 years, but decades.'
Consulte Mais informação »
An engineering breakthrough using DNA could unlock the quantum computing revolutionScientists used the building blocks of life to potentially revolutionize electronics. The scientists utilized DNA to guide a chemical reaction that would overcome the barrier to Little's superconductor, which was once thought to be 'insurmountable'.
Consulte Mais informação »
An engineering breakthrough using DNA could unlock the quantum computing revolutionScientists used DNA to bring us a step closer to the quantum computing revolution. The method could unlock room-temperature superconductors.
Consulte Mais informação »
House Rep Worried 23andMe Will Lead to Bioweapons That Kill Specific People Based on DNAA Colorado lawmaker warned that DNA-based bioweapons are on the horizon — and that private DNA-testing companies may make that possible by selling data.
Consulte Mais informação »
How DNA and Training Impact Athletic BuildResearch says between swimming, sprinting and other sports, athletic build can play a large role in an athlete's success.
Consulte Mais informação »
2023 Lexus UX250h Hybrid Adds Cheaper, More Efficient FWD ModelThe smallest Lexus crossover, now offered only as a hybrid, has a new front-wheel-drive base model that starts at $35,850 and is EPA-rated at 42 mpg combined.
Consulte Mais informação »