Stiff competition for nanotechnology

Microtubules, essential structural elements in living cells, grow stiffer as they grow longer, an unexpected property that could lead to advances in nanomaterials development.

A team of biophysicists from The University of Texas at Austin, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, researched their potential.

“We found that the microtubules grow stiffer as they grow longer, a very unusual and surprising result,” said Ernst-Ludwig Florin, assistant professor with the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at The University of Texas at Austin. “This will have a big impact on our understanding of how microtubules function in the cell and on advancing materials research.

“To my knowledge, no manmade material has this property to become stiffer as it elongates,” said Florin. “This research could lead to the design of novel materials based on this biological structure.”

Microtubules, which are about 25 nanometres in diameter, play an essential role in many cellular processes, acting as girders to support the cell. They also form tracks along which organelles, structures in cells that perform specialised functions, can move. They are also essential components of flagella and cilia, the extensions of some cells that give them movement.