Stretching and transporting DNA molecules using motor proteins
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Inside cells, motor proteins perform a variety of complex tasks including the transport of vesicles and the separation of chromosomes. We demonstrate a novel use of such biological machines for the mechanical manipulation of nanostructures in a cell-free environment. Specifically, we show that purified kinesin motors in combination with chemically modified microtubules can transport and stretch individual λ-phage DNA molecules across a surface. This technique, in contrast to existing ones, enables the parallel yet individual manipulation of many molecules and may offer an efficient mechanism for assembling multidimensional DNA structures.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1251-1254 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Nano letters |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 9 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2003 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
Externally published | Yes |
External IDs
ORCID | /0000-0002-0750-8515/work/142235596 |
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