Phys.org July 21, 2022 It has been quite difficult to recreate molecular motors with mechanical properties roughly similar to those of natural molecular motors like ATP synthase. An international team of researchers (Germany, UK) used the DNA origami method to assemble the motor from DNA molecules which was invented in 2006. The new nanomotor made of DNA material consists of three components: base, rotor arm, and platform. The base is fixed to a glass plate in solution via chemical bonds on a glass plate, the rotor arm is mounted on the base so that it can rotate, and the platform […]
Category Archives: Micromotors
Micromotors get supercharged with three ‘engines’
Nanowerk March 4, 2020 Micromotors are tiny tools that convert stimuli, such as chemical fuel, light, magnetic fields or sound, into motion to perform tasks. They are powered by one or two of these stimuli. To make a “supercharged” micromotor with three engines researchers in Spain coated polystyrene microspheres with layers of gold and 2D nanomaterials; they attached three different nanoparticles that functioned as engines making the micromotors responsive to hydrogen peroxide, magnets and light. When the micromotors were exposed to all three stimuli simultaneously, the speed increased by as much as 73% over that attained with micromotors containing only […]