Engineering Issues in the Fabrication of a Hybrid Nano-Propeller System Powered by F ₁ -ATPase

Abstract

A hybrid nanoscale device consisting of nanofabricated structures integrated with a biomolecular motor was constructed on a 25-mm diameter round glass cover slip. Glass substrates were patterned using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching to define elevated nickel anchor points with a minimum feature size of 60 nm in diameter. Subsequent additions of histidine-tagged F₁-ATPase biomolecular motor resulted in selective attachment of the biomotors to the nanofabricated substrates. Electron beam lithography also was employed to fabricate 1 μm long nickel propellers, which subsequently were released through wet etching, collected, and concentrated in buffer solution. Biotin-Cys-6x-His peptides were attached to nickel propellers for interfacing with a biotinylated biomolecular motor through a streptavidin linker. Successful assembly of the hybrid system was demonstrated with observation of rotating nickel propellers. This engineered hybrid nanomechanical system demonstrates the potential application of a new class of devices with enhanced functionality in biological environments.