Research report 2009 - Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Biomolecular Motors in Nanotechnology
Authors
Diez, Stefan
Departments
Diez: Molekularer Transport in der Zellbiologie und Nanotechnologie (Dr. Stefan Diez)
MPI für molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik, Dresden
Summary
Biomolecular motors are mechano-enzymes capable of converting chemical energy into directed motion. Recent advances in the biophysical understanding of these motors have raised the possibility that they might find applications as nanomachines in synthetic environments. For example, they could be used as molecule-sized robots that build up and manipulate nanostructures, detect chemicals or sort molecular reagents.