Dopamine modulated ionic permeability in mesoporous silica sphere based biomimetic compartment

The building of artificial systems with similar structure and function as cellular compartments will expand our understanding of compartmentalization related biological process and facilitate the construction of biomimetic highly functional structures. Herein, surface phenylboronic acid functionalized mesoporous silica sphere was developed as a biomimetic dopamine gated compartment, in which the ionic permeability can be well modulated through the dopamine-binding induced charge reversal. As the phenylboronic acid is negatively charged, the negatively charged 1, 3, 6, 8-pyrenetetrasulfonic acid (TPSA) was hindered from permeation into the biomimetic compartment. However, the presence of dopamine and its binding with phenylboronic acid reversed the gatekeeper shell from negative to positive charged and gated the permeation of TPSA into the interior. The dopamine gated permeation phenomenon resembles that in biological system, and thus the phenylboronic acid functionalized mesoporous silica sphere was taken as a simple model for dopamine gated ion channel decorated biological compartment. It will also contribute to the development of artificial cell and responsive nanoreactor.