Electrical docking of microtubules for kinesin-driven motility in nanostructures

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Martin G.L. Van Den Heuvel - , Delft University of Technology (Author)
  • Christopher T. Butcher - , Delft University of Technology (Author)
  • Serge G. Lemay - , Delft University of Technology (Author)
  • Stefan Diez - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Cees Dekker - , Delft University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

We demonstrate localized electrical control of the docking of microtubules onto engineered kinesin-coated structures. After applying a voltage to a gold electrode, we observe an enhanced transport of microtubules from solution toward the surface and a subsequent increase of the amount of moving microtubule shuttles. Switching off the voltage leads to a partial detachment of microtubules from the surface. The surface coverage of microtubules, during both the docking and undocking events, follows an exponential time dependence. We provide a simple kinetic model, incorporating the equilibrium between free and surface-bound microtubules, that explains these data.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)235-241
Number of pages7
JournalNano letters
Volume5
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 8 Jan 2005
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 15794603
ORCID /0000-0002-0750-8515/work/142235592