EAGER: A New Molecular Dynamic Model for Motor Proteins

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Intellectual merit. This investigation will result in a new molecular dynamic model for nanosized motor proteins. This new model addresses an issue with the most commonly used models that omit the mass and acceleration terms that appear in Newton's second law. The most common approach assumes that mass and inertia have negligible effects on the dynamics of nano-sized objects moving through a fluid environment. This practice is paradoxical because the motion predicted by this massless model may not actually satisfy the theory from which it was derived, Newton's second law. The effort in this research is to develop a model which is consistent with Newton's second law by retaining the mass and acceleration terms. The method of multiple scales, when applied in this research, provides insights into how to obtain the desired model. Preliminary work with this approach has yielded motion of the motor protein myosin V, which appears more realistic. The goal here is the continued refinement of this model along with experimental validation of its predictions using advanced laser microscopic techniques. The use of this highly intense light source allows capture of the motor protein's movements at a rate fast enough, and at a length scale small enough, to discern whether the motor protein exhibits the behaviors predicted by the model. These measurements are difficult to perform using conventional microscopy techniques. Broader impacts. Involvement in this research will facilitate the training of two graduate students in the dynamics of nano-scale systems and provide learning experiences for undergraduate students in this project. These students will be involved in developing the proposed theory, performing single molecule experiments, and disseminating the results through journal publications and presentations at conferences, which will provide training for future careers in academia or industry. Both investigators are currently involved in training minority students in order to increase the pool of individuals qualified for academic and industrial careers. Because the proposed research is far reaching in terms of its general applicability to the study of phenomena occurring at small scales, especially particle dynamics in low Reynolds number flow regimes, training in this area will equip the students with tools that they can use to launch their post-graduate careers in many directions beyond the study of motor proteins.