ESR 1 - Molecular motor based artificial muscles

Mechanical motion is a key feature of living cells and organisms and the design of artificial muscle-like functions is a major challenge ultimately integrating molecular machines and cells. It has recently developed supramolecular fibers by self-assembly of molecular rotary motors in water and discovered that alignment allows cooperativity of motor function to exert macroscopic motion. In this muscle type structure, comprising 95% water, motion is amplified over multiple length scales from the nano- to macro-scale. The soft actuators can bend and perform lifting functions upon exposure to light and provide a unique starting point for designing muscles with various responsiveness and integrating artificial muscle systems with and within living cells. My project consists to design, synthesize and study new amphiphilic molecular motors based on these artificial muscles.