Application of biological materials in nano/microtechnology devices

Two examples of the use of biological materials in micrometer-size applications are discussed. The first concerns the control of motor protein movement, which is oriented toward actuator application. Two kinds of polymers, PTFE (poly-tetrafluoroethylene) and PMMA (poly-methylmethacrylate), are shown to be useful in the control of the trajectories of actin filament movement through adsorption of myosin molecules. The second is a magnetic sensor that uses bacterial magnetic particles. Magnetic particle chains extracted through a magnetic trapping extraction method were immobilized on a cantilever for an atomic force microscope. This magnetic particle probe was sensitive enough to measure a standard magnetic force microscope (MFM) sample when used in an MFM system.