Rosette Nanotube Porins as Ion Selective Transporters and Single-Molecule Sensors.

ABSTRACT: Rosette nanotubes (RNTs) are a class of materials formed by molecular self-assembly of a fused guanine-cytosine base (G∧C base). An important feature of these self-assembled nanotubes is their precise atomic structure, intriguing for rational design and optimization as synthetic transmembrane porins. Here, we present experimental observations of ion transport across 1.1 nm inner diameter RNT porins (RNTPs) of various lengths in the range 5-200 nm. In a typical experiment, custom lipophilic RNTPs were first inserted into lipid vesicles; the vesicles then spontaneously fused with a planar lipid bilayer, which produced stepwise increases of ion current across the bilayer. Our measurements in 1 M KCl solution indicate ion transport rates of ∼50 ions s^-1 V^-1 m, which for s

SUBMITTER: Tripathi P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7175996 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature