Our Research

 

 

1.      Protein Based Nano-Motors and Nano-Sensors

 

Sponsor: National Science Foundation - Nanomanufacturing Program

 

The long term goal of this project is to develop novel and revolutionary biomolecular machine components that can be assembled and form multi-degree of freedom nanodevices that will be able to apply forces and manipulate objects in the nanoworld, transfer information from the nano to the macro world and also be able to travel in the nanoenvironment. These machines are expected to be highly efficient, economical in mass production, work under little supervisionand be controllable. The vision is that such ultra-miniature robotic systems and nano-mechanical devices will be the biomolecular electro-mechanical hardware of future manufacturing, biomedical and planetary applications. Some proteins, due to their structural characteristics and physicochemical properties constitute potential candidates for this role.

 

The specific aims of this project are:

 

a) To use the tools of molecular biology and protein engineering to identify, express, and purify natural protein-based nanoActuator and nanoSensor motifs that can be engineered to undergo significant conformational changes in response to a modulation of the local environment. Site-directed mutagenesis is employed to mutate these peptide motifs in order to generate a collection of novel nanoActuators and nanoSensors, which possess optimal physiochemical properties.

 

b) To develop computational tools for the analysis and visualization of the functional capabilities of these protein-based nanoActuators and nanoSensors, as well as the development of computer simulations aimed at predicting the performance of the nano-actuating and nano-sensing elements.

 

c) To experimentally characterize the physiochemical properties of these biomolecular actuators and sensors. This will require the use and refinement of currently available techniques.

 

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2.        Bio Nano Machines For Space Applications

 

Sponsor: NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts

 

This project aims at proposing, studying and evaluating novel concepts of space devices that are based on revolutionary bio-nano-mechanisms formed by protein and DNA based nano-components. The recent explosion of research in nanotechnology, combined with important discoveries in molecular biology have created a new interest in biomolecular machines and robots. The main goal in the field of biomolecular machines is to use various biological elements whose function at the cellular level creates motion, force or a signal — as machine components. These components perform their preprogrammed biological function in response to the specific physiochemical stimuli but in an artificial setting. In this way proteins and DNA could act as motors, mechanical joints, transmission elements, or sensors. If all these different components were assembled together in the proper proportion and orientation they would form nanodevices with multiple degrees of freedom, able to apply forces and manipulate objects in the nanoscale world. The advantage of using nature's machine components is that they are highly efficient and reliable.

 

We are studying computationally and experimentally protein and DNA configurations that can be used as bio-nano-machine components. We specifically study the design of two macro-scale devices with important space application that will be using bio-nano-component assemblies:

 

i) The Networked  TerraXplorer (NTXp): will be a long and light-weight network of channels containing millions of bionano- robotic elements with ultra-enhanced sensing and signaling capabilities. NTXp could be used to map and explore in detail very large planetary surfaces.

 

ii) The All Terrain Astronaut Bio-Nano Gears (ATB) will serve as an extra layer of shield on the astronaut providing early detection and protection against dangerous and harmful environments or aiding in healing damages caused to the astronaut. The ATB gear will consist of micro membranes and surface sheets that contain swarms of bio-nano robots providing sensing and signaling capabilities.