Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 27, 2026

Monitoring Protein Adsorption with Solid-state Nanopores
Published on: December 2, 2011
Intermittent permeation of cylindrical nanopores by water
Rosalind Allen1, Simone Melchionna, Jean-Pierre Hansen
1Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Molecular-dynamics simulations of water molecules in nanometer sized cylindrical channels connecting two reservoirs show that the permeation of water is very sensitive to the channel radius and to electric polarization of the embedding material. At threshold, the permeation is intermittent on a nanosecond time scale, and strongly enhanced by the presence of an ion inside the channel, providing a possible mechanism for gating. Confined water remains surprisingly fluid and bulklike. Its behavior differs strikingly from that of a reference Lennard-Jones fluid, which tends to contract into a highly layered structure inside the channel.
Related Concept Videos
Aquaporins
Dialysis
Passive Diffusion: Overview and Kinetics
When administered orally, drugs establish a substantial concentration gradient between the gastrointestinal (GI) lumen and the bloodstream, expediting their diffusion into...

