The colloquium will be streamed online.
Heiner Linke, Lund University
Invited by Prof. Joachim Rädler
Proteins are the fundamental building blocks of life, responsible for a vast range of structural and functional roles within biological systems. In recent years, protein design has emerged as a powerful and rapidly advancing technology that enables the creation of entirely new protein structures and functions. From the perspective of nanoscience, designed proteins represent almost an ideal form of nanotechnology: they can be computationally engineered into nearly arbitrary three-dimensional shapes with atomic-level precision, and they can be produced sustainably and at scale using biological expression systems.
I will present two examples that highlight the potential of de novo protein design for synthetic nanotechnology. The first example focuses on the construction of a synthetic protein motor, the “Tumbleweed,” designed using modular components from non-motor proteins. This artificial walker moves directionally along a DNA track, driven by a ligand-controlled Brownian ratchet mechanism. The design demonstrates how principles of natural molecular machines can be applied to create controllable motion at the nanoscale using protein scaffolds. [1,2]
The second example looks toward the future of sustainable nanomanufacturing, exploring how protein-templated design could revolutionize the way we create functional materials. In particular, I will outline a vision for harnessing designed proteins to direct the synthesis of semiconductor materials, offering a potential path toward sustainable and scalable synthesis of semiconductor nanostructures and eventually perhaps even optoelectronic devices. [3]
[1] Nilsson, P. F., Zink, A., Laprévote, O. M. C., Korosec, C. S., Gustafsson, N., Robertson, N. O., Forde, N. R., Eichhorn, R., Höcker, B., Curmi, P. M. G. & Linke, H. (2024). Walking by design: how to build artificial molecular motors made of proteins. Nano Futures 8, 042501.
[2] P. Nilsson et al, (2026) Clocked stepping of an artificial protein walker along a DNA track. Nature Nanotechn. 21, 987–995