A model for enhanced and selective transport through biological membranes with alternating pores
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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution
Published on: August 16, 2016
Daniele Andreucci1, Dario Bellaveglia1, Emilio Nicola Maria Cirillo1
1Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
We investigate the outflux of ions through the channels in a cell membrane. The channels undergo an open/close cycle according to a periodic schedule. Our study is based both on theoretical considerations relying on homogenization theory, and on Monte Carlo numerical simulations. We examine the onset of a limiting boundary behavior characterized by a constant ratio between the outflux and the local density, in the large volume limit. The focus here is on the issue of selectivity, that is on the different behavior of the ion currents through the channel in the cases of the selected and non-selected species.
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