Abstract

Actin Filament Multiplication, Path Control and Longevity of Actin-Myosin based Nanodevices for Biosensing and Biocomputation

Alf Mansson, Professor, Linnaeus University

Biomolecular myosin motors interact with actin filaments in utilizing the cellular fuel ATP to produce motion and forces, e.g. in muscle contraction and cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells. Both isolated motors and actin filaments have been chemically and genetically engineered for use in nanotechnological applications. In the devices, myosin motor fragments are immobilized on suitably derivatized nanoscale tracks for directed movement of actin filaments in network based biological computation or to separate analyte molecules and accumulate them on a detector area. For greater versatility of such nanodevices it is important to extend the shelf-life during storage as well as the longevity during device operation. For several applications it is also desirable to exponentially increase the number of filaments during operation, e.g. by repeated cycles of actin severing using gelsolin followed by elongation, and to precisely and remotely control the exact filament path through the network. Improved longevity requires rationally determined adjustments of the fluid environment and device fabrication. Here, I describe recent progress in these regards and their importance for improved molecular motors based nanodevices.