Abstract
We have engineered an amoeba system combining nanofabricated inorganic materialswith biological components, capable of propelling itself via actin polymerization.The nanofabricated materials have a mechanism similar to the locomotion of theListeria monocytogenes, food poisoning bacteria. The propulsive force generationutilizes nanoparticles made from nickel and gold functionalized with the Listeriamonocytogenes transmembrane protein, ActA. These Listeria-mimic nanoparticleswere in concert with actin, actin binding proteins, ATP (adenosine triphosphate)and encapsulated within a lipid vesicle. This system is an artificial cell, suchas a vesicle, where artificial nanobacteria and actin polymerization machineryare used in driving force generators inside the cell. The assembled structure wasobserved to crawl on a glass surface analogously to an amoeba, with the speed ofthe movement dependent on the amount of actin monomers and ATP present.
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