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Updated: Dec 2, 2025

Whole-cell Patch-clamp Recordings for Electrophysiological Determination of Ion Selectivity in Channelrhodopsins
Published on: May 22, 2017
A Visible-Light-Regulated Chloride Transport Channel Inspired by Rhodopsin
Jiaxin Quan1, Fei Zhu1, Manivannan Kalavathi Dhinakaran1
1Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology (CCNU), Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Inspired by the light-regulating capabilities of naturally occurring rhodopsin, we have constructed a visible-light-regulated Cl- -transport membrane channel based on a supramolecular host-guest interaction. A natural retinal chromophore, capable of a visible-light response, is used as the guest and grafted into the artificial channel. Upon introduction of an ethyl-urea-derived pillar[6]arene (Urea-P6) host, threading or de-threading of the retinal and selective bonding of Cl- can be utilized to regulate ion transport. Based on the visible-light responsiveness of the host-guest interaction, Cl- transport can be regulated by visible light between ON and OFF states. Visible-light-regulated Cl- transport as a chemical model permits to understand comparable biological ion-selective transport behaviors. Furthermore, this result also supplies a smart visible-light-responsive Cl- transporter, which may have applications in natural photoelectric conversion and photo-controlled delivery systems.
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