Deciphering force-sensing mechanisms in biology and designing smart & active drug delivery vehicles

RakshitLab members love forces. Forces that act as stimuli in physiology for sensing—such as sound vibrations that enable hearing, touch that lets us feel texture and pressure, or fluid shear that cells experience in blood flow. And forces that are generated by biomolecules themselves to carry out routine biological work—such as motor proteins transporting cargo inside cells, cytoskeletal filaments generating tension, or protein complexes pulling, unfolding, and assembling structures. We are interested in both.

On the sensing side, we aim to understand how biomolecules detect and interpret tiny mechanical inputs. A major focus of our recent work is hearing: how sound-induced vibrations are converted into molecular-scale forces that stretch specialized protein complexes in the inner ear. These proteins behave like nanoscale force sensors—responding differently depending on how strongly and how quickly they are pulled. In simple terms, we study how these molecules “feel” sound and translate it into signals that the brain can understand, revealing the physical principles that make hearing possible.

On the force-generation side, we seek to uncover how biological molecules produce and harness force to perform work. Motor proteins, for example, walk along cellular tracks to transport essential cargo; contractile systems generate tension for movement and shape; and dynamic protein assemblies reorganize cellular architecture. By understanding the working principles of these force-generating systems, we aim to translate biology’s design strategies into engineered systems. Inspired by these mechanisms, our recent work develops actively spinning and self-driven microscopic structures—bio-compatible engines that can potentially function as smart, controllable drug carriers.

Our goal is to uncover the fundamental rules by which forces are sensed, generated, and utilized in biology—and to use those principles to build the next generation of bio-inspired materials and biomedical technologies.