Molecular Motors Manipulation

The use of nanomotors to power molecular machines is one of the most exciting challenges facing nanotechnology. Our laboratory uses nanoscale principles and techniques to understand at the molecular level the physical-chemical and mechanistic principles of operation of biological molecular motors. These are catalytic proteins with moving parts that work efficiently inside the cells and are essential for cell proliferation and survival. Using nature as a guide will facilitate the design of highly efficient ‘man-made’ molecular machines for complex operations at the nanoscale.

The on-going projects in the lab use single molecule manipulation methods, like Optical Tweezers, to study the operation of biological and synthetic molecular motors. The current projects include the study of:

• Dynamics of the DNA replication machinery of the human mitochondrial genome.
• Mechano-chemistry of membrane fission during endocytosis.
• Dynamics of viral RNA transcription and replication.
• Manipulation of man-made molecular motors.

Visit www.borjaibarralab.com for updated news and a detailed description of the research projects.