Dynamic assembly of polymer nanotube networks via kinesin powered microtubule filaments. 2015

Walter F Paxton, and Nathan F Bouxsein, and Ian M Henderson, and Andrew Gomez, and George D Bachand
Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA. wfpaxto@sandia.gov gdbacha@sandia.gov.

We describe for the first time how biological nanomotors may be used to actively self-assemble mesoscale networks composed of diblock copolymer nanotubes. The collective force generated by multiple kinesin nanomotors acting on a microtubule filament is large enough to overcome the energy barrier required to extract nanotubes from polymer vesicles comprised of poly(ethylene oxide-b-butadiene) in spite of the higher force requirements relative to extracting nanotubes from lipid vesicles. Nevertheless, large-scale polymer networks were dynamically assembled by the motors. These networks displayed enhanced robustness, persisting more than 24 h post-assembly (compared to 4-5 h for corresponding lipid networks). The transport of materials in and on the polymer membranes differs substantially from the transport on analogous lipid networks. Specifically, our data suggest that polymer mobility in nanotubular structures is considerably different from planar or 3D structures, and is stunted by 1D confinement of the polymer subunits. Moreover, quantum dots adsorbed onto polymer nanotubes are completely immobile, which is related to this 1D confinement effect and is in stark contrast to the highly fluid transport observed on lipid tubules.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008870 Microtubules Slender, cylindrical filaments found in the cytoskeleton of plant and animal cells. They are composed of the protein TUBULIN and are influenced by TUBULIN MODULATORS. Microtubule
D011108 Polymers Compounds formed by the joining of smaller, usually repeating, units linked by covalent bonds. These compounds often form large macromolecules (e.g., BIOPOLYMERS; PLASTICS). Polymer
D016547 Kinesins A family of microtubule-associated mechanical adenosine triphosphatases, that uses the energy of ATP hydrolysis to move organelles along microtubules including mitosis, meiosis, and axonal transport. Kinesin,Kinesin Heavy-Chain Protein,Kinesin Light-Chain Protein,Kinesin Light-Chain Proteins,Kinesin Superfamily,Heavy-Chain Protein, Kinesin,Light-Chain Protein, Kinesin,Light-Chain Proteins, Kinesin,Protein, Kinesin Heavy-Chain,Protein, Kinesin Light-Chain,Proteins, Kinesin Light-Chain,Superfamily, Kinesin
D043942 Nanotubes Nanometer-sized tubes composed of various substances including carbon (CARBON NANOTUBES), boron nitride, or nickel vanadate. Nanorods,Nanorod,Nanotube
D045663 Quantum Dots Nanometer sized fragments of semiconductor crystalline material which emit PHOTONS. The wavelength is based on the quantum confinement size of the dot. They can be embedded in MICROBEADS for high throughput ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY TECHNIQUES. Nanocrystals, Semiconductor,Semiconductor Nanocrystals,Semiconductor Nanoparticles,Dot, Quantum,Dots, Quantum,Nanocrystal, Semiconductor,Nanoparticle, Semiconductor,Nanoparticles, Semiconductor,Quantum Dot,Semiconductor Nanocrystal,Semiconductor Nanoparticle
D036103 Nanotechnology The development and use of techniques to study physical phenomena and construct structures in the nanoscale size range or smaller. Nanotechnologies

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