Ben Roberts | Using an information ratchet to improve selectivity in DNA duplex formation
Foresight Institute Molecular Machines Group
An engine without a machine: Using an information ratchet to improve selectivity in DNA duplex formation
Bio: Ben is a postdoc in the Prins group at the University of Padua, working on nonequilibrium chemical systems. He obtained his PhD in the Leigh group at the University of Manchester working on designing and understanding autonomous chemically fuelled molecular motors and pumps.
Abstract: The consumption of chemical energy to drive the formation of complex, out-of-equilibrium structures is a key tool used by biological organisms to achieve the high-fidelity recognition and responsive structures necessary for life. However, while recent advances in (single-component) molecular motors and pumps have provided insight into this chemistry, the problem of how to achieve such behaviors in multi-component reaction systems has proven far from trivial. Using competitive DNA duplex formation for a model system, we have created an information ratchet that demonstrates that a higher selectivity can be achieved using an energy dissipating process than through the use of thermodynamic recognition elements alone.
Foresight Institute Molecular Machines Group
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