Abstract
This review describes the development towards actomyosin based nanodevices taking a starting point in pioneering studies in the 1990s based on conventional in vitro motility assays. References are given to parallel developments using the kinesin–microtubule motor system. The early developments focused on achieving cargo-transportation using actin filaments as cargo-loaded shuttles propelled by surface-adsorbed heavy meromyosin along micro- and nanofabricated channels. These efforts prompted extensive studies of surface–motor interactions contributing with new insights of general relevance in surface and colloid chemistry. As a result of these early efforts, a range of complex devices have now emerged, spanning applications in medical diagnostics, biocomputation and formation of complex nanostructures by self-organization. In addition to giving a comprehensive account of the developments towards real-world applications an important goal of the present review is to demonstrate important connections between the applied studies and fundamental biophysical studies of actomyosin and muscle function. Thus the manipulation of the motor proteins towards applications has resulted in new insights into methodological aspects of the in vitro motiliy assay. Other developments have advanced the understanding of the dynamic materials properties of actin filaments.
Highlights
Molecular motors transport and sort cargoes in cells and underlie both cell, and organism-motility
The developments of self-organized systems deserve further exploration. In these studies it would be of interest to exploit wild-type and engineered biological motors (e.g., Tsiavaliaris et al 2004) or even artificial molecular motors (Bromley et al 2009; Feringa 2011; Kuwada et al 2010)
For further development of point-of-care diagnostic devices, it will be important to perform in depth studies of the mechanisms that limit the capability of engineered cytoskeletal filament shuttles to transport various cargoes, from single macromolecules to cells
Summary
Molecular motors transport and sort cargoes in cells and underlie both cell-, and organism-motility. Surface–motor interaction-mechanisms that prevent motility on certain surfaces and that give optimized function on others have been of key importance in the development of nano- and micropatterned surfaces for guiding of motor propelled filaments.
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