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For many years, the mystery of molecular motors has fascinated scientists all over the world. In 2016, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage (France), Professor Emeritus at the University of Strasbourg, J. Fraser Stoddart (Great Britain) and Bernard L. Feringa (Netherlands) for their work on the design and synthesis of artificial molecular machines. Following on from this pioneering work, researchers from the Institut Charles Sadron (Université de Strasbourg/CNRS) and the University of Manchester recently published an article in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, providing a long-awaited answer to the question of how these motors work. The study demonstrates how simple engines can convert a chemical energy source into mechanical work through a catalytic process. A remarkable breakthrough that will provide a better understanding of certain biological processes essential to the functioning of living cells, and open the way to innovative applications.
To better appreciate the importance of this discovery, it is essential to understand what a molecular motor is. According to Professor Nicolas Giuseppone, head of the Molecular and Supramolecular Synthesis and Self-Assembly team, “A lambda molecule in a cell, like a swimmer in a rough sea, finds itself unable to steer itself in the water, and suffers the force of the waves. Molecular motors, on the other hand, behave like surfers, using the energy of certain well-chosen waves to orient themselves and produce a perfectly controlled movement. In this way, molecular motors use the disorder of their environment to derive orderly motion, and perform useful mechanical work”. In nature, molecular motors are numerous and perform essential functions: DNA replication and translation, movement within cells or tissues, cell division. These biological motors consume a chemical energy source (usually ATP) enzymatically and convert it into mechanical work. However, the precise mechanism capable of generating force from a molecular reaction is the subject of much controversy.
As part of the ITN-ArtMoMa European collaborative project, Nicolas Giuseppone’s team from Strasbourg and David Leigh’s team from Manchester have succeeded in demonstrating this mechanism using a minimal chemical system. They have combined rotary motors, 1000 times smaller than natural ones, within a polymer network. “We have shown that these motors are catalysts and vice versa. By transforming a chemical fuel, they derive an energy source which they use to direct their movements in a given direction. There is no direct production of force by catalysis, but the chemical energy will enable the motor’s random movements to be selected so that it turns in one direction rather than another, and this is what produces directional work. So chemical energy is transformed into mechanical energy. This is the first time we’ve proved this phenomenon,” enthuses Nicolas Giuseppone.
In their experiments, the scientists linked a very large number of motors so that they operated at the same time. Their movements were amplified in the polymer network down to the macroscopic level, and the force generated within the material was measured and correlated with catalytic activity. This opens up a wide range of potential applications. The force of these molecular motors could propel objects inside the body to transport drugs, for example, or create muscle implants that use cell energy as fuel. “Wherever there is movement, molecular motors could be used. We can imagine motors being integrated into materials that become active on all scales. This will affect nanotechnologies, materials and biomaterials, and soft robotics”, explains Nicolas Giuseppone.
The Strasbourg-based team is just beginning to work on applications. “We recently published a paper showing that molecular motors can destroy, in vitro, models of the beta-amyloid fibers responsible for Alzheimer’s disease”, explains the researcher. On a completely different front, scientists are focusing on the use of photoactivatable motors to generate supramolecular polymers with dynamic properties. This opens the way to applications in the field of self-repairing and recyclable materials, especially as this latest technology simply uses light as a non-polluting energy source.
Transducing chemical energy through catalysis by an artificial molecular motor
Nature 637, 594–600 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08288-x
