The structure of nanochannels formed by block copolymer solutions confined in nanotubes

Monte Carlo simulations are employed to obtain information about the radius and the roughness of the inner surface of the channels, which are generated by a family of block copolymer solutions confined in nanotubes. The fluctuations of the above quantities also have been calculated. The simulations have been carried out by varying the interactions between various kinds of segments and those between segments and the wall of the nanotubes, as well as the chemical structure of the copolymer and the nanotube diameter. The present simulations provide insight regarding the structure of ionic and water channels formed by protein in the phospholipid bilayers of the cell membrane.