Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 27, 2025
07:47
A Proteoliposome-Based Efflux Assay to Determine Single-molecule Properties of Cl- Channels and Transporters
Published on: April 20, 2015
10.0K
Ion Selectivity and Permeation Mechanism in a Cyclodextrin-Based Channel
Pratyusha Musunuru1, Siladitya Padhi2, U Deva Priyakumar1
1Center for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad 500 032, India.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B
|July 20, 2021
Summary
Synthetic ion channels made from cyclodextrins offer biocompatible ion transport. Channel design, based on connectivity and glucose units, dictates selectivity for cations or anions, aiding future medical applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Computational Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Synthetic ion channels are crucial for medical and materials science due to their ion conductivity.
- Cyclodextrin-based channels are attractive for their inherent non-toxicity and biocompatibility.
- Understanding ion transport mechanisms is key to designing functional synthetic channels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify optimal cyclodextrin channel structures for synthetic ion channel applications.
- To elucidate the relationship between channel architecture and ion selectivity (cation vs. anion).
- To determine how structural features influence ion transport energy barriers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized molecular dynamics simulations.
- Employed free energy calculations to analyze ion transport.
- Investigated various cyclodextrin channel configurations.
Main Results:
- Channel connectivity dictates cation or anion selectivity.
- The number of glucose units in cyclodextrin rings governs the ion transport energy barrier.
- A detailed mechanism for ion transport through cyclodextrin channels was proposed.
Conclusions:
- Cyclodextrin channel design can be tailored for specific ion selectivity (cation or anion).
- Modifying channel linkages and the number of glucose units enables precise control over ion transport.
- This research provides a foundation for designing advanced cyclodextrin-based synthetic ion channels for targeted applications.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Factors Affecting Dissolution: Drug Permeability, Stability and Stereochemistry
307
Orally administered drugs primarily enter the systemic circulation via passive diffusion through the intestinal membranes. The drug's absorption is influenced by drug stability in the gastrointestinal GI tract, membrane permeability, the surface area available for absorption, luminal drug concentration, and residence time in the lumen. Drug permeability can be enhanced by adjusting the lipophilicity, polarity, or molecular size of the drug, promoting its passive transport across intestinal...
307
01:44The Significance of Membrane Transport
35.6K
The transport of solutes across the cell membrane is essential for metabolic processes, like maintaining cell size and volume, generating the action potential, exchanging nutrients and gases, etc. Membrane transport can be either passive or active. It can be simple diffusion, facilitated, or mediated transport aided by transport proteins such as transporters and channels.
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
35.6K
01:16Facilitated Diffusion
789
The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
789
01:23Drug Absorption Mechanism: Passive Membrane Transport
5.6K
Passive transport is a method of drug absorption where small, lipid-soluble drugs can move across the cell membrane. This movement happens along the concentration gradient, which is a natural flow from higher to lower concentration areas. The speed at which the drug moves is directly related to its lipid–water partition coefficient. This means that the more a drug dissolves in lipids, the faster it diffuses or spreads throughout the body. It is important to note that most drugs are either...
5.6K
01:23Mechanisms of Drug Absorption: Paracellular, Transcellular, and Vesicular Transport
1.1K
Drugs need to permeate cell membranes to reach their target sites after administration. Orally administered drugs must transcend intestinal epithelial membrane barriers to infiltrate the systemic circulation. Drugs with a molecular weight of less than 500 Daltons diffuse through gaps between neighboring cells, called paracellular pathways.
However, most drugs use the transcellular route, traversing directly through the cell membranes via two mechanisms: passive and active transport. Passive...
However, most drugs use the transcellular route, traversing directly through the cell membranes via two mechanisms: passive and active transport. Passive...
1.1K
01:17Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
802
Pore transport and ion-pair formation are critical mechanisms for the absorption and distribution of drugs in the body.
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
802