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Bio-Nanorobotics 207

Component MacroRobots Bio-Nano Robots

Structural
Elements- Links
Metal, Plastic Polymer

DNA [PDB file:119D]
Nanotubes
Joints Metal, Plastic Polymer material
DNA hinge
Molecular bonds, Synthetic joints
Revolute joints
Prismatic joints
Spherical joints
Cylindrical joints
Actuators Electric motors, Pneumatic
motors, Hydraulic motors, Smart
material-based actuators

ATPase protein flagella motors, DNA actuators,
Viral protein motors etc.
Transmission Springs (Metal, Polyvinyl) β Sheets
Elements Bearings Molecular camshaft design Smith SS (2001).
Gears
United States Patent No. 6,200,782 13 March 2001.

Sensors Light sensors, force sensors,
position sensors, temperature
sensors

Rhodopsin Heat Shock Factor
[PDB file-1JFP] [PDB file–3HSF]

Figure 7.4 Macro- and bio-nano-equivalence of robot components.

7.2.2.1 The ATPase Motor

One of the most abundant rotary motors found in life forms is F 0 F 1 ATP synthase, commonly known
as the ‘‘ATPase motor.’’ Oxidative phosphorylation was demonstrated over 50 years ago as an
important process by which our bodies capture energy from the food we eat. The mechanism of this
process was not known until 1997, when Boyer and Walker described the key role that ATP plays in
the process (Boyer, 1998; Walker, 1998). Noji et al. published the structural and performance data of
the ATPase motor in 1997 (Noji et al., 1997; Yasuda et al., 1998). According to this study, the g-
subunit, which is about 1 nm in diameter, rotates inside the F 1 subunit, which is about 5 nm in
diameter, to produce approximately 40 pN-nm of rotary torque. Montemagno and his group were the
first to indicate that the rotation of the g-subunit of the ATPase motor could be mechanically useful
based on fabricated nanomechanical inorganic devices, which could be compatible with the force