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Molecular Machines and Nanomachines
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Molecular Machines and Nanomachines

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2011) | Viewed by 61750

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michelle Critchley

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Guest Editor
Therapeutic Delivery, NanoVentures Australia Ltd, Suite 201, 3 Chester St, Oakleigh, VIC 3166, Australia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Trevor Lithgow

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Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Building 77, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Australia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Steven Langford

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Department of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnology, and particularly research into nanomachines and molecular machines, represents an exciting area of translational research. It is a very hot topic.

Nanomachines are mechanical or electromechanical devices of nanometer size, and are largely in “research-and-development phase”. Current speculation has high hopes for the use of nanomachines in medical technology: whether to supply lost function to the immune system in detecting pathogens or as a smart surveillance system to detect toxic chemicals in our bodies or in our environment.

Molecular machines are devices within our cells that drive essential biological processes, with the component parts of these machines each contributing a partial function or structural element to the overall machine. The multiple components act together to enable a cellular function. Good examples include bacterial flagella, the RNA polymerase, and various protein transport machines that selectively transfer protein molecules across biological membranes. A current innovation in nanotechnology concerns the design and manufacture of synthetic molecular machines, which may or may not have a biological machine as inspiration.

The distinction between nanomachines and molecular machines is not always clear and our treatment of the “two” topics in this single volume is aimed at illuminating the complementary nature of these fields of research.

Dr. Michelle Critchley
Prof. Dr. Steven Langford
Prof. Dr. Trevor Lithgow
Guest Editors

Keywords

  • nanomachine
  • molecular machine
  • nanotechnology
  • molecular motors
  • nanobots

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 324 KiB  
Article
Bacterial Motility Measured by a Miniature Chamber for High-Pressure Microscopy
by Masayoshi Nishiyama and Seiji Kojima
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13(7), 9225-9239; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms13079225 - 24 Jul 2012
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7583
Abstract
Hydrostatic pressure is one of the physical stimuli that characterize the environment of living matter. Many microorganisms thrive under high pressure and may even physically or geochemically require this extreme environmental condition. In contrast, application of pressure is detrimental to most life on [...] Read more.
Hydrostatic pressure is one of the physical stimuli that characterize the environment of living matter. Many microorganisms thrive under high pressure and may even physically or geochemically require this extreme environmental condition. In contrast, application of pressure is detrimental to most life on Earth; especially to living organisms under ambient pressure conditions. To study the mechanism of how living things adapt to high-pressure conditions, it is necessary to monitor directly the organism of interest under various pressure conditions. Here, we report a miniature chamber for high-pressure microscopy. The chamber was equipped with a built-in separator, in which water pressure was properly transduced to that of the sample solution. The apparatus developed could apply pressure up to 150 MPa, and enabled us to acquire bright-field and epifluorescence images at various pressures and temperatures. We demonstrated that the application of pressure acted directly and reversibly on the swimming motility of Escherichia coli cells. The present technique should be applicable to a wide range of dynamic biological processes that depend on applied pressures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Machines and Nanomachines)
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Review

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25 pages, 634 KiB  
Review
Functioning Nanomachines Seen in Real-Time in Living Bacteria Using Single-Molecule and Super-Resolution Fluorescence Imaging
by Sheng-Wen Chiu and Mark C. Leake
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12(4), 2518-2542; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms12042518 - 15 Apr 2011
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 13044
Abstract
Molecular machines are examples of “pre-established” nanotechnology, driving the basic biochemistry of living cells. They encompass an enormous range of function, including fuel generation for chemical processes, transport of molecular components within the cell, cellular mobility, signal transduction and the replication of the [...] Read more.
Molecular machines are examples of “pre-established” nanotechnology, driving the basic biochemistry of living cells. They encompass an enormous range of function, including fuel generation for chemical processes, transport of molecular components within the cell, cellular mobility, signal transduction and the replication of the genetic code, amongst many others. Much of our understanding of such nanometer length scale machines has come from in vitro studies performed in isolated, artificial conditions. Researchers are now tackling the challenges of studying nanomachines in their native environments. In this review, we outline recent in vivo investigations on nanomachines in model bacterial systems using state-of-the-art genetics technology combined with cutting-edge single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. We conclude that single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence imaging provide powerful tools for the biochemical, structural and functional characterization of biological nanomachines. The integrative spatial, temporal, and single-molecule data obtained simultaneously from fluorescence imaging open an avenue for systems-level single-molecule cellular biophysics and in vivo biochemistry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Machines and Nanomachines)
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20 pages, 1292 KiB  
Review
Advances Towards Synthetic Machines at the Molecular and Nanoscale Level
by Kristina Konstas, Steven J. Langford and Melissa J. Latter
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(6), 2453-2472; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11062453 - 11 Jun 2010
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 16138
Abstract
The fabrication of increasingly smaller machines to the nanometer scale can be achieved by either a “top-down” or “bottom-up” approach. While the former is reaching its limits of resolution, the latter is showing promise for the assembly of molecular components, in a comparable [...] Read more.
The fabrication of increasingly smaller machines to the nanometer scale can be achieved by either a “top-down” or “bottom-up” approach. While the former is reaching its limits of resolution, the latter is showing promise for the assembly of molecular components, in a comparable approach to natural systems, to produce functioning ensembles in a controlled and predetermined manner. In this review we focus on recent progress in molecular systems that act as molecular machine prototypes such as switches, motors, vehicles and logic operators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Machines and Nanomachines)
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22 pages, 313 KiB  
Review
Neural Membrane Signaling Platforms
by Ron Wallace
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(6), 2421-2442; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11062421 - 10 Jun 2010
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 11716
Abstract
Throughout much of the history of biology, the cell membrane was functionally defined as a semi-permeable barrier separating aqueous compartments, and an anchoring site for proteins. Little attention was devoted to its possible regulatory role in intracellular molecular processes and neuron electrical signaling. [...] Read more.
Throughout much of the history of biology, the cell membrane was functionally defined as a semi-permeable barrier separating aqueous compartments, and an anchoring site for proteins. Little attention was devoted to its possible regulatory role in intracellular molecular processes and neuron electrical signaling. This article reviews the history of membrane studies and the current state of the art. Emphasis is placed on natural and artificial membrane studies of electric field effects on molecular organization, especially as these may relate to impulse propagation in neurons. Implications of these studies for new designs in artificial intelligence are briefly examined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Machines and Nanomachines)
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10 pages, 324 KiB  
Review
Porphyrinic Molecular Devices: Towards Nanoscaled Processes
by Melissa J. Latter and Steven J. Langford
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(4), 1878-1887; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11041878 - 26 Apr 2010
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 11731
Abstract
The structural, coordinative, photochemical and electrochemical properties of the porphyrin macrocycle that make them the functional element of choice in ubiquitous biological systems, e.g., chlorophyll, cytochrome P450 and hemoglobin, also contribute to making porphyrins and metalloporphyrins desirable in a “bottom-up” approach to the [...] Read more.
The structural, coordinative, photochemical and electrochemical properties of the porphyrin macrocycle that make them the functional element of choice in ubiquitous biological systems, e.g., chlorophyll, cytochrome P450 and hemoglobin, also contribute to making porphyrins and metalloporphyrins desirable in a “bottom-up” approach to the construction of nanosized devices. This paper highlights some recent advances in the construction of supramolecular assemblies based on the porphyrin macrocycle that display optically readable functions as a result of photonic or chemical stimuli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Machines and Nanomachines)
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