Engineering Autonomous, Chemically Fueled DNA Origami Motors

Biomolecular motors convert chemical energy into mechanical work and motion. Although significant progress in synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering has been made, constructing autonomous, unidirectional, chemically-fueled biomolecular motors remains a significant challenge.

Here we have conceptualized two synthetic rotational motors built from DNA origami, each powered by a distinct Brownian ratchet mechanism. The first uses the enzyme adenylate kinase to drive conformational changes in a DNA origami rotor, modulating its internal potential energy landscape to produce unidirectional motion. The second, a replenishing burnt-bridge ratchet inspired by the motility of influenza viruses on cell surfaces, uses a DNA origami rotor that forms transient tethers to substrate on the inner wall of a DNA origami stator; enzymatic cleavage of these tethers creates a directional bias toward unvisited substrate, producing continuous rotation.

Together, these designs provide a foundation for future synthetic nanomachinery, expanding the possibilities for autonomous nanoscale motion and controlled energy transduction.