Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026

16:19
High Throughput Single-cell and Multiple-cell Micro-encapsulation
Published on: June 15, 2012
Controlling the dynamics of molecular encapsulation and gating
Stephen Rieth1, Keith Hermann, Bao-Yu Wang
1Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 W. 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Chemical Society Reviews
|November 2, 2010
Summary
This review explores how molecules enter and exit molecular capsules. It focuses on controlled release mechanisms, crucial for developing advanced catalysts and drug delivery systems.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Molecular capsules offer potential for controlled substance delivery.
- Understanding guest molecule exchange is key to capsule functionality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically review mechanisms of guest molecule entry and exit from molecular capsules.
- To highlight the role of conformational changes in gated molecular encapsulation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing research on molecular encapsulation.
- Analysis of studies focusing on host-guest interactions and conformational dynamics.
Main Results:
- Gated molecular encapsulation relies on host structure conformational changes.
- Controlled trapping and release rates are governed by these dynamic changes.
Conclusions:
- Quantitative rules for gating are an area of scientific interest.
- Gating mechanisms have significant implications for catalysis, drug delivery, and membrane technology.
Related Concept Videos
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Ligand-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that play a vital role in intercellular communication and functions of the nervous system. They allow the influx of ions across the membrane once the neurotransmitter binds, allowing the subsequent transmission of electrical excitation across the neurons. Other ligand-gated ion channels, like the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, permit anions like chloride into the cells on the binding of the GABA molecule. Their entry into the cell...
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles
Vesicle budding is orchestrated by distinct cytosolic proteins such as adaptor proteins, coat proteins, and GTPases. To initiate vesicle budding, membrane-bending proteins containing crescent-shaped BAR domains bind to the lipid heads in the bilayer and distort the membrane to form a protein-coated vesicle bud. Adaptors proteins such as AP2 for clathrin-coated vesicles can nucleate on the deformed membrane. Finally, coat proteins such as clathrin or COPI and COPII assemble into a coat forming...
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Nuclear protein sorting regulates nucleus composition and gene expression, crucial for determining the fate of a eukaryotic cell. Hence, the entry and exit of molecules across the nuclear envelope is a tightly controlled process. Nuclear protein sorting can be inhibited by one of the following ways: 1) masking cargo signal sequences, 2) modifying the nuclear receptor's affinity for cargo, 3) controlling the nuclear pore size, 4) retaining the cargo during its transit to the cytosol or the...
Eukaryotic Compartmentalization
One of the distinguishing features of eukaryotic cells is that they contain membrane-bound organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria, that carry out specialized functions. Since biological membranes are only selectively permeable to solutes, they help create a compartment with controlled conditions inside an organelle. These microenvironments are tailored to the organelle's specific functions and help isolate them from the surrounding cytosol.
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...
Eukaryotic Compartmentalizations
One of the distinguishing features of eukaryotic cells is that they contain membrane-bound organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria, that carry out specialized functions. Since biological membranes are only selectively permeable to solutes, they help create a compartment with controlled conditions inside an organelle. These microenvironments are tailored to the organelle's specific functions and help isolate them from the surrounding cytosol.
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...

