Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan.
Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan.
Sci Robot. 2022 Apr 20;7(65):eabm0677. doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.abm0677.
Cooperation is a strategy that has been adopted by groups of organisms to execute complex tasks more efficiently than single entities. Cooperation increases the robustness and flexibility of the working groups and permits sharing of the workload among individuals. However, the utilization of this strategy in artificial systems at the molecular level, which could enable substantial advances in microrobotics and nanotechnology, remains highly challenging. Here, we demonstrate molecular transportation through the cooperative action of a large number of artificial molecular machines, photoresponsive DNA-conjugated microtubules driven by kinesin motor proteins. Mechanical communication via conjugated photoresponsive DNA enables these microtubules to organize into groups upon photoirradiation. The groups of transporters load and transport cargo, and cargo unloading is achieved by dissociating the groups into single microtubules. The group formation permits the loading and transport of cargoes with larger sizes and in larger numbers over long distances compared with single transporters. We also demonstrate that cargo can be collected at user-determined locations defined by ultraviolet light exposure. This work demonstrates cooperative task performance by molecular machines, which will help to construct molecular robots with advanced functionalities in the future.
合作是一种被生物体群体采用的策略，以比单个实体更有效地执行复杂任务。合作提高了工作组的健壮性和灵活性，并允许个人之间分担工作量。然而，在分子水平上的人工系统中利用这种策略，这可能会在微机器人和纳米技术方面取得重大进展，仍然极具挑战性。在这里，我们展示了通过大量人工分子机器的协同作用进行的分子运输，这些分子机器由驱动蛋白马达驱动的光响应 DNA 偶联微管组成。通过共轭光响应 DNA 的机械通信，这些微管在光照射下能够组织成群。这些运输器群能够装载和运输货物，并且通过将群组解离成单个微管来实现货物的卸载。与单个运输器相比，群组形成允许更大尺寸和更多数量的货物进行远距离的装载和运输。我们还证明可以通过紫外线照射来收集在用户确定的位置的货物。这项工作展示了分子机器的协作任务性能，这将有助于在未来构建具有先进功能的分子机器人。
