Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Generation of Size-controlled Poly ethylene Glycol Diacrylate Droplets via Semi-3-Dimensional Flow Focusing Microfluidic Devices
Published on: July 3, 2018
Size-dependent interaction of a 3-arm star poly(ethylene glycol) with two biological nanopores
Monasadat Talarimoghari1, Gerhard Baaken2, Ralf Hanselmann3,4
1Laboratory for Membrane Physiology and Technology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 7, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
Abstract:
We use two pore-forming proteins, alpha-hemolysin and aerolysin, to compare the polymer size-dependence of ionic current block by two types of ethyleneglycol polymers: 1) linear and 2) 3-arm star poly(ethylene glycol), both applied as a polydisperse mixture of average mass 1kDa under high salt conditions. The results demonstrate that monomer size sensitivity, as known for linear PEGs, is conserved for the star polymers with only subtle differences in the dependence of the residual conductance on monomer number. To explain this absence of a dominant effect of polymer architecture, we propose that PEG adsorbs to the inner pore wall in a collapsed, salted-out state, likely due to the effect of hydrophobic residues in the pore wall on the availability of water for hydration.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Muscles that Move the Arm
The pectoralis major has two origins. Its clavicular head originates on the medial half of the clavicle. In contrast, the sternocostal head originates on the costal cartilages of ribs 1-6, the sternum, and the aponeurosis of the external oblique of the...
What is Conservation Biology?
Cell Size
Surface Area
Cells can take in nutrients and water via diffusion through the plasma membrane itself or through specific channels in the membrane. The area of the membrane surrounding...
Biological Effects of Radiation
Trends in Lattice Energy: Ion Size and Charge
Frequency-dependent Selection

