Biological Molecular Motors

Another example of a rotary motor is that of bacterial flagella, 23 which are responsible for bacterial motility. 

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Although this molecular motor does not achieve continuous and fast rotation, the design principles may prove relevant for a better understanding of biological molecular motors producing unidirectional rotary motion. 

The description of the motions of swimming bacteria like E. coli or molecular motors such as kinesin requires a knowledge of their propulsion mechanisms and the nature of the interactions between these micron and nanoscale objects and the surrounding fluid in which they move. These are only two examples of a large class of small self-propelled objects that one finds in biology. Propulsion occurs by a variety of mechanisms that usually involve the conversion of chemical... 

Campbell, P.N., Smith, A.D. and Peters, T.J. (2005) Biochemistry Illustrated Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Post-Genomic Era, 5th edition, Elsevier, London and Oxford, 242 pp. Capaldi, R. and Aggeler, R. (2002) Mechanism of FjF0-type ATP synthase, a biological rotary motor, TIBS, 27, 154-160. 

Abstract To appreciate the technological potential of controlled molecular-level motion one only has to consider that it lies at the heart of virtually every biological process. When we learn how to build synthetic molecular motors and machines that can interface their effects directly with other molecular-level sub-structures and the outside world it will add a new dimension to functional molecule and materials design. In this review we discuss both the influence of chirality on the design of molecular level machines and, in turn, how molecular level machines can control the expression of chirality of a physical response to an inherently achiral stimulus. 

Steinberg, G. (1998). Organelle transport and molecular motors in fungi. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 24, 161-77. 

DNA-Binding Molecular Motors Enzyme Cofactors, Chemistry of Life, Origins of Organic Chemistry in Biology Water, Properties of... 

L. A. Amos and R. A. Cross Structure and dynamics of molecular motors. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 7, 239 (1997). 

Molecular systems that exhibit controlled or coordinated rotary motion are discussed in this chapter. These systems represent a reproduction of a variety of macroscopic mechanical devices on the molecular scale. From gears to a motor, passing through a turnstile, a brake and a ratchet, we describe their design, synthesis and dynamic behavior. The importance of molecular motors in the biological realm and possible applications in nanotechnology are also discussed. 

The first evidence of the importance that molecular machines have in life is their presence in all living systems. Even very small biological units such as cells and bacteria are provided with molecular motors that allow their independent life and permit interaction with more complex living systems. As distinguished from macroscopic mechanical motors, these biological systems use chemical energy in the form of ATP or proton-motive forces, not electricity or petroleum. 

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