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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Reconstitution of a Kv Channel into Lipid Membranes for Structural and Functional Studies
Published on: July 13, 2013
Bis[(benzo-15-crown-5)-15-yl methyl] pimelate forms ion channels in planar lipid bilayer: a novel model ion channel
V Vijayvergiya1, P Ghosh, A K Bera
1Department of Biophysics, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India.
Abstract:
Some crown ethers translocate cations across the liposomal membrane either by a carrier mechanism or by forming ion channels. We report formation of ion channels in lipid bilayer membranes by bis[(benzo-15-crown-5)-15-yl methyl] pimelate, a crown ether known to form ion inclusion complexes with alkali metal cations. The channels have characteristic long openings lasting several seconds and a low conductance (4 pS in 500 mM KCl and 2.5 pS in 500 mM NaCl). A model of the crown ether channel formed by stacking of four monomers is proposed. A large database of structural information on crown ethers and their ion inclusion complexes as well as large family of crown ethers with a variety of substitutions in the ring are commercially available. Thus the crown ether channel is an attractive model system to study the role of various chemical moieties in ion conduction which may provide deeper insight into understanding the mechanism(s) of selectivity, ion transport, etc. in biological ion channels.
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