Autonomous walking dynamics of a nanorobot on a nanopore track driven by salt concentration gradients

Abstract

The walking of a nanorobot with DNA legs requires a preset track to serve as footholds for the DNA legs and a track-matched driving mechanism to propel the nanorobot. Recently, a newly suggested track formed by multiple nanopores has garnered attraction due to its chemical stability. The nanorobot can be powered by biased leg-nanopore interactions along the walking direction. Here, we propose utilizing a salt concentration gradient along the nanopore track to induce an interaction bias based on different local ion screening effects on the nanopore charges. The nanorobot walking behaviors under different salt concentration gradients are studied through a combination of computational simulations and theoretical analyses. We find that the walking properties (such as velocity and directionality) highly depend on the local interactions experienced by the lagging leg. Under strong leg-nanopore attraction, the lagging leg needs a drag force provided by the leading leg to leave from the nanopore, while under weak attraction, the lagging leg can leave the nanopore without the assistance of the leading leg. Therefore, different walking modes can be observed under various ion conditions, leading to the complicated walking dynamics of the nanorobot driven by the salt concentration gradients.