CAREER: Artificial Brownian Motors - Education and Research in Biologically Inspired Physics at the Nanoscale

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

This research project aims at enhancing our understanding of so called molecular motors. Molecular motors are biological macromolecules that perform mechanical tasks in living cells, such as the transport of material or the contraction of muscle cells. The physical environment of molecular motors is strongly determined by random collisions with surrounding water molecules, and must therefore have a working principle very different from traditional, man-made machines. This notion has prompted the development of theoretical models that incorporate Brownian motion into the mechanism for molecular force generation - so-called Brownian motors. The present project will experimentally realize some of these models, using building blocks such as plastic beads, nano-patterned silicon chips and DNA molecules. The objective is to test theoretical models such as those that describe how many coupled motors co-operate when a muscle contracts. The experiments are expected to become a focal point for future theoretical work aimed at understanding biological phenomena, and may lead to novel bio-mimetic actuator systems. This research field is at the interface of biology and physics at the nanoscale, a field in which more trained engineers and scientists will be needed in the near future. Undergraduate and graduate students will be exposed to interdisciplinary scientific work, and will learn skills necessary for a successful career in Nanoscience. A course on the physics and biology of nanoscale phenomena, aimed at undergraduate and graduate physics and biology students, will also be developed. Broader impacts of this project are the training of students in interdisciplinary thinking, and to equip students from both sides of the biology-physics divide with practical and theoretical skills from the other field. The educational and scientific program will be integrated with existing programs in the Materials Science Institute at the University of Oregon, further strengthening the University's interdisciplinary research environment. This project is jointly funded by the Physics Division in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate and the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences in the Directorate for Biological Sciences.