Carbon nanotube based artificial water channel protein: membrane perturbation and water transportation

We functionalized double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) as artificial water channel proteins. For the first time, molecular dynamics simulations show that the bilayer structure of DWCNTs is advantageous for carbon nanotube based transmembrane channels. The shielding of the amphiphilic outer layer could guarantee biocompatibility of the synthetic channel and protect the inner tube (functional part) from disturbance of the membrane environment. This novel design could promote more sophisticated nanobiodevices which could function in a bioenvironment with high biocompatibility.