Actin Motility Confinement on Micro/Nanostructured Surfaces

摘要

In recent years there has been increasing interest in the use of molecular motors and cytoskeletal filaments in nanotechnological applications, particularly in the production of biomedical microdevices. In order for this to be possible it is important to exert a high level of control over the movement of the filaments. Chemical patterning techniques are often used to achieve this but these methods are often complex and the surface chemistry can be unstable. We investigated whether microfabricated silicon oxide lines of different widths with z-nanoscale heights of 20, 40 and 80 nm coated with heavy meromyosin (HMM) molecular motors could be used to control the motility of actin filaments by topographical means. Results demonstrated that filaments were confined by structures exceeding 20 nm in height regardless of the width of the channel indicating that topographical confinement offers a simple and possibly more cost-effective alternative to chemical patterning.