Bionanotechnology: Lessons from Nature
David S. Goodsell
Language: English
Pages: 346
ISBN: 8126538368
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Discussions of the basic structural, nanotechnology, and system engineering principles, as well as an introductory overview of essential concepts and methods in biotechnology, will be included. Text is presented side-by-side with extensive use of high-quality illustrations prepared using cutting edge computer graphics techniques. Includes numerous examples, such applications in genetic engineering. Represents the only available introduction and overview of this interdisciplinary field, merging the physical and biological sciences. Concludes with the authors' expert assessment of the future promise of nanotechnology, from molecular "tinkertoys" to nanomedicine.?? David Goodsell is author of two trade books, Machinery of Life and Our Molecular Nature, and Arthur Olson is the world's leader in molecular graphics and nano-scale representation.
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form of hemoglobin to be optimized for a different function, while the original continued with its job in the blood. The new hemoglobin gradually acquired a stronger affinity for oxygen, binding it more tightly than the normal blood hemoglobin. Today, this specialized hemo- 29 30 Bionanomachines in Action globin is used in the blood of a fetus, so that it can capture oxygen from the mother’s blood. Sheer numbers also aid evolution. Cells rarely live all alone. Typically, a colony of bacteria
water molecule displays two sites for accepting hydrogen bonds and two hydrogen atoms to participate in a bond. The surfaces of bionanomachines are continually exposed to water, so the ability to form hydrogen bonds with water is essential for biomolecular stability. This important topic is described in more detail below. Electrostatic Interactions Are Formed Between Charged Atoms Classic electrostatic interactions between atoms with electronic charges also play an important role in the function
only sufficient to provide an error rate of one mistake in 10,000 to 100,000 bases copied. As described in Chapter 4, the additional accuracy is provided by proofreading schemes. Polymerase action is also vastly improved if the enzyme is processive. When a polymerase binds to a template strand, it should copy large stretches before the strand is released. In many natural polymerases, processivity is increased by incorporation of a “clamp” that surrounds the DNA, allowing a sliding motion along
its length but not release. In the DNA polymerase used for bacterial replication, this increases the processivity by 500,000 times over polymerases that do not have clamps. Note that the ribosome is also a clamp that closes around the RNA message, allowing it to read the entire length of an RNA strand before releasing it. A full toolbox of natural enzymes has been characterized that modify and interact with the information held in nucleic acids. Most are available commercially and are routinely
reacting molecules and forcibly aligning reacting bonds in the proper orientation. Active sites conform closely to the shape of the molecules being trans- Chemical Transformation formed. The surface of the active site is complementary to the molecule. It will have carbon-rich patches abutting carbon atoms in the molecule and hydrogen-bonding atoms in perfect registration with hydrogen-bonding atoms on the molecule. Enzymes commonly make contact with most of the molecule, and some enzymes
