Sustained unidirectional rotation of a self-organized DNA rotor on a nanopore

TL;DR

This paper reports the creation of a self-organized DNA nanostructure that acts as a sustained, unidirectional rotary motor powered by nanoscale water and ion flow, demonstrating autonomous operation at physiological conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel DNA-based rotary nanomotor that self-assembles and operates autonomously on a solid-state nanopore, advancing nanoscale energy transduction technology.

Findings

Achieved sustained unidirectional rotation up to 20 revolutions per second.

Demonstrated energy harvesting from ion and water flow driven by salt gradient or voltage.

Self-organization of DNA nanostructure into a functional rotary motor.

Abstract

Flow-driven rotary motors drive functional processes in human society such as windmills and water wheels. Although examples of such rotary motors also feature prominently in cell biology, their synthetic construction at the nanoscale has thus far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate flow-driven rotary motion of a self-organized DNA nanostructure that is docked onto a nanopore in a thin solid-state membrane. An elastic DNA bundle self assembles into a chiral conformation upon phoretic docking onto the solid-state nanopore, and subsequently displays a sustained unidirectional rotary motion of up to 20 revolutions/s. The rotors harness energy from a nanoscale water and ion flow that is generated by a static (electro)chemical potential gradient in the nanopore that is established through a salt gradient or applied voltage. These artificial nanoengines self-organize and operate autonomously in physiological conditions, paving a new direction in constructing energy-transducing motors at nanoscale interfaces.