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Researchers create the first thermal nanomotor in the world
April 16, 2008The motor functions as a nanotransporter by moving and rotating cargo from one end of the carbon nanotube to the other
Researchers from the UAB Research Park have created the first nanomotor that is propelled by changes in temperature. A carbon nanotube is capable of transporting cargo and rotating like a conventional motor, but is a million times smaller than the head of a needle. This research opens the door to the creation of new nanometric devices designed to carry out mechanical tasks and which could be applied to the fields of biomedicine or new materials.
The "nanotransporter" consists of a carbon nanotube - a cylindrical molecule formed by carbon atoms - covered with a shorter concentric nanotube which can move back and forth or act as a rotor. A metal cargo can be added to the shorter mobile tube, which could then transport this cargo from one end to the other of the longer nanotube or rotate around its axis.
Researchers are able to control these movements by applying different temperatures at the two ends of the long nanotube. The shorter tube thus moves from the warmer to the colder area and is similar to how air moves around a heater. This is the first time a nanoscale motor is created that can use changes in temperature to generate and control movements.
The movements along the longer tube can be controlled with a precision of less than the diameter of an atom. This ability to control objects at nanometre scale can be extremely useful for future applications in nanotechnology, e.g. in designing nanoelectromechanical systems with great technological potential in the fields in biomedicine and new materials.
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Researchers are able to control these movements by applying different temperatures at the two ends of the long nanotube. The shorter tube thus moves from the warmer to the colder area and is similar to how air moves around a heater. This is the first time a nanoscale motor is created that can use changes in temperature to generate and control movements.
The movements along the longer tube can be controlled with a precision of less than the diameter of an atom. This ability to control objects at nanometre scale can be extremely useful for future applications in nanotechnology, e.g. in designing nanoelectromechanical systems with great technological potential in the fields in biomedicine and new materials.
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
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Mechanical and Dynamical Principles of Protein Nanomotors: The Key to Nano-engineering Applications (Nanotechnology Science and Technology) by A. R. Khataeea (Author), H. R. Khataeeb (Author) It is obvious that movement is an essential concept of all living organisms. Molecular motility participates in many cellular functions including cell division, intracellular transport and movement of the organism itself. Thus, it is not surprising that nature has evolved a series of biological nanomotors that fulfil many of these tasks. A general class of these biological nanomotors is called protein nanomotors that move in a linear fashion (e.g. the kinesin or myosin or dynein motors) or rotate (e.g. F0F1-ATP synthase or bacterial flagellar motors). Protein nanomotors are natural motors responsible for the human activity and are also the subject of interest for nanotechnology. Protein nanomotors are ideal nanomotors because of their small size, perfect structure, smart and high... |
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