Abstract:

While incremental miniaturization of a man-made machine is possible by simply reducing the size of its parts, radical miniaturization typically requires re-evaluation of physical principles that govern the machine's operation. Biological systems provide outstanding examples of machines that operate with high precision and efficiency at the nanoscale. Replicating such functionality in man-made systems remains an outstanding scientific and technological challenge. In this lecture, I will describe our recent work directed at designing synthetic molecular systems that reproduce and sometimes outperformed the functionality of biological machines. The topics to be discussed include self-assembled molecular systems that transport water, ions, and lipids across biological membranes and convert electric fields into rotary motion. The lecture will highlight the use of microscopic simulations to design and explore nanoscale biomolecular systems.

 

Bio:

Dr. Aleksei Aksimentiev received his Master's degree in physics from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine), and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Warsaw, Poland. After a brief postdoctoral training at Mitsui Chemicals, Japan, he joined the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, Urbana, IL, as a postdoctoral research associate. In 2005, he became a faculty member of the Physics Department at the University of Illinois, where he is currently a professor of physics. His research interests include biological and synthetic DNA systems, nanopore sequencing, and molecular mechanisms of viral infection.

 

~BME Host: Leopold Green~

 

ZOOM LINK: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/94696307969

Students registered for the seminar are expected to attend in-person.

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