Single-DNA molecule nanomotor regulated by photons.
We report the design of a single-molecule nanomotor driven by photons. The nanomotor is a DNA hairpin-structured molecule incorporated with azobenzene moieties to facilitate reversible photocontrollable switching. Upon repeated UV-vis irradiation, this nanomotor displayed 40-50% open-close conversion efficiency. This type of nanomotor displays well-regulated responses and can be operated under mild conditions with no output of waste. In contrast to multiple-component DNA nanomachines, the intramolecular interaction in this single-molecule system offers unique concentration-independent motor functionality. Moreover, the hairpin structure of the motor backbone can significantly improve the efficiency of light-to-movement energy conversion. These results suggest that azobenzene-incorporated, hairpin-structured single-molecule DNA nanomotors have promising potential for applications which require highly efficient light-driven molecular motors.
Kang
Huaizhi
H
Center for Research at Bio/Nano Interface, Department of Chemistry, Shands Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7200, USA.
Liu
Haipeng
H
Phillips
Joseph A
JA
Cao
Zehui
Z
Kim
Youngmi
Y
Chen
Yan
Y
Yang
Zunyi
Z
Li
Jianwei
J
Tan
Weihong
W
D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009038:Motion; D036103:Nanotechnology; D017785:Photons; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
D001391:Azo Compounds; D004247:DNA; C009850:azobenzene