preprint draft Andreas Ehrmann author eaa689ed-f6e0-11ea-865d-bd98cbcf83c20000-0002-0997-5678 Carl Peter Goodrich author EB352CD2-F68A-11E9-89C5-A432E66974250000-0002-1307-5074 CaGo department EdHa department Functional bio-inspired nanomachines from sticky colloids project Countless biological processes are fueled by energy-rich molecules like ATP and GTP that supply energy with extreme efficiency. However, designing similar energy-delivery schemes from the bottom up, essential for the development of powered nanostructures and other \emph{de novo} machinery, presents a significant challenge: how can an energy-rich structure be stable in solution yet still deliver this energy at precisely the right time? In this paper, we present a purely physical mechanism that solves this challenge, facilitating energy transfer akin to ATP hydrolysis, yet occurring between synthetic nanostructures without any biochemical interactions. This targeted energy delivery is achieved by exploiting a differentiable state-based model to balance the energy profiles that govern the structural transitions in the two nanostructures, creating a coupled relaxation pathway with minimal barriers that facilitates energy delivery. We verify the effectiveness and robustness of this mechanism through Langevin Dynamics simulations, demonstrating that a bath of the high-energy structures can systematically and repeatedly drive the target structure out of equilibrium, enabling it to perform tasks. As the mechanism operates only through explicit physical forces without any biochemistry or internal state variables, our results present generic and far-reaching design principles, setting the stage for the next generation of synthetic nanomachines. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 2026 eng 2506.1426610.48550/arXiv.2506.14266 https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/record/22873 Ehrmann A, Goodrich CP. Controlling energy delivery with bistable nanostructures. <i>arXiv</i>. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266">10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266</a> A. Ehrmann and C. P. Goodrich, “Controlling energy delivery with bistable nanostructures,” <i>arXiv</i>. . Ehrmann, Andreas, and Carl Peter Goodrich. “Controlling Energy Delivery with Bistable Nanostructures.” <i>ArXiv</i>, n.d. <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266">https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266</a>. Ehrmann A, Goodrich CP. Controlling energy delivery with bistable nanostructures. arXiv, <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266">10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266</a>. Ehrmann, A., &#38; Goodrich, C. P. (n.d.). Controlling energy delivery with bistable nanostructures. <i>arXiv</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266">https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266</a> A. Ehrmann, C.P. Goodrich, ArXiv (n.d.). Ehrmann, Andreas, and Carl Peter Goodrich. “Controlling Energy Delivery with Bistable Nanostructures.” <i>ArXiv</i>, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266">10.48550/arXiv.2506.14266</a>. 228922026-09-09T13:16:54Z2026-09-18T11:28:29Z