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A molecular switch is a molecule that can be switched between two or more stable or metastable states with the use of any external (exogenous) or internal (endogenous) stimuli, such as changes in pH, light, temperature, an electric current, a microenvironment, or in the presence of ions, and other ligands.
Phosducin-transducin beta-gamma complex. Beta and gamma subunits of G-protein are shown by blue and red, respectively. Guanosine diphosphate Guanosine triphosphate. G proteins, also known as guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, are a family of proteins that act as molecular switches inside cells, and are involved in transmitting signals from a variety of stimuli outside a cell to its interior.
A major route is the introduction of bistability to produce molecular switches, featuring two distinct configurations for the molecule to convert between. This has been perceived as a step forward from the original molecular shuttle which consisted of two identical sites for the ring to move between without any preference, in a manner analogous ...
Molecular switches are being engineered to respond to specific disease markers or environmental conditions, allowing for targeted drug release exactly where and when it’s needed. For instance, pH-sensitive molecular switches can be designed to release drug molecules only in the acidic environment of cancer cells, sparing healthy tissues from ...
The switches maintain the orderly progression of the cell cycle and act as checkpoints to ensure that each phase has been properly completed before progression to the next phase. [1] For example, Cdk, or cyclin dependent kinase , is a major control switch for the cell cycle and it allows the cell to move from G1 to S or G2 to M by adding ...
GTPases function as molecular switches or timers in many fundamental cellular processes. [2] Examples of these roles include: Signal transduction in response to activation of cell surface receptors, including transmembrane receptors such as those mediating taste, smell and vision. [2] Protein biosynthesis (a.k.a. translation) at the ribosome.
The two switch motifs, G2 (SW1) and G3 (SW2), are the main parts of the protein that move when GTP is hydrolyzed into GDP. This conformational change by the two switch motifs is what mediates the basic functionality as a molecular switch protein. This GTP-bound state of Ras is the "on" state, and the GDP-bound state is the "off" state.
A molecular logic gate is a molecule that performs a logical operation based on at least one physical or chemical inputs and a single output. The field has advanced from simple logic systems based on a single chemical or physical input to molecules capable of combinatorial and sequential operations such as arithmetic operations (i.e. moleculators and memory storage algorithms). [1]