title: Control and gating of kinesin-microtubule motility on electrically heated thermo-chips.
abstract: First lab-on-chip devices based on active transport by biomolecular motors have been demonstrated for basic detection and sorting applications. However, to fully employ the advantages of such hybrid nanotechnology, versatile spatial and temporal control mechanisms are required. Using a thermo-responsive polymer, we demonstrated a temperature controlled gate that either allows or disallows the passing of microtubules through a topographically defined channel. The gate is addressed by a narrow gold wire, which acts as a local heating element. It is shown that the electrical current flowing through a narrow gold channel can control the local temperature and as a result the conformation of the polymer. This is the first demonstration of a spatially addressable gate for microtubule motility which is a key element of nanodevices based on biomolecular motors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 3GJ, UK.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Harm
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Zalinge
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Korten
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diez
authors.forename: Dan V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Nicolau
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004560:Electricity; D006358:Hot Temperature; D016547:Kinesins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D009068:Movement; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; C052970:poly-N-isopropylacrylamide; D016547:Kinesins