Motility of an autonomous protein-based artificial motor that operates via a burnt-bridge principle

Inspired by biology, great progress has been made in creating artificial molecular motors. However, the dream of harnessing proteins – the building blocks selected by nature – to design autonomous motors has so far remained elusive. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of the Lawnmower, an autonomous, protein-based artificial molecular motor comprised of a spherical hub decorated with proteases. Its “burnt-bridge” motion is directed by cleavage of a peptide lawn, promoting motion towards unvisited substrate. We find that Lawnmowers exhibit directional motion with average speeds of up to 80 nm/s, comparable to biological motors. By selectively patterning the peptide lawn on microfabricated tracks, we furthermore show that the Lawnmower is capable of track-guided motion. Our work opens an avenue towards nanotechnology applications of artificial protein motors.