Functional localization of kinesin/microtubule-based motility system along metallic glass microwires
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2014 AIP Publishing LLC. We report an approach using metallic glass microwires for functional organization of kinesin/microtubule-based molecular motility systems along a quasi-one-dimensional track. The molecular motility system assembled along a metallic glass microwire exhibits the typical kinesin-powered gliding motion of microtubules, while the variance of the gliding direction depends on the wire diameter. As a result of the geometrical boundary condition given by the wire tracks, the angle within which the orientations of gliding microtubules fall becomes narrower for smaller wire diameter. Such behavior supports the feasibility of using microwires as a simple and flexible means of spatial regulation of the molecule-based in-vitro motion. Furthermore, the metallic glass wires interact with microtubules, the negatively charged polyelectrolyte, by creating electric fields. We experimentally demonstrate how the electric field-induced forces act as an additional control parameter in the wire-based manipulation of the molecular motility system.
