Reversible surface functionalization of motor proteins for sustainable motility

Abstract

Kinesins and microtubules are biological motor proteins and rail fibers, respectively. Their combination could be an attractive power source for nanotools. Their movements can be easily reproduced in vitro by the motility assay method. However, the durability of the protein material remains relatively short for use in devices. Herein, regeneration of the active substrate by removing surface-adsorbed kinesins by multi-photon laser ablation and reloading additional kinesin molecules was attempted. The effect of femtosecond laser pulse irradiation to the surface-adsorbed kinesins was investigated by atomic force microscopy and by the microtubule driving performance. The findings of these investigations suggest the successful exchange of kinesins, which leads to improvement of the durability of microtubule driving performance.