Towards synthetic molecular motors: a model elastic-network study

Protein molecular motors play a fundamental role in biological cells and development of their synthetic counterparts is a major challenge. Here, we show how a model motor system with the operation mechanism resembling that of muscle myosin can be designed at the concept level, without addressing the implementation aspects. The model is constructed as an elastic network, similar to the coarse-grained descriptions used for real proteins. We show by numerical simulations that the designed synthetic motor can operate as a deterministic or Brownian ratchet and that there is a continuous transition between such two regimes. The motor operation under external load, approaching the stall condition, is also analysed.