Self-Assembling Peptide-Appended Metallomacrocycle Pores for Selective Water Translocation

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Biomimetic Engineering

Background:

• Artificial water channels are crucial for selective transport, but current unimolecular channels require complex synthesis.
• Developing simpler, self-assembling compounds for efficient channel formation is a key goal in materials science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a novel self-assembled peptide-bound Ni2+ metallomacrocycle for creating artificial water channels.
• To demonstrate a simpler, more efficient method for constructing selective ion and water transport systems.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a peptide-bound Ni2+ metallomacrocycle via condensation.
• Characterization of the metallomacrocycle's self-assembly properties.
• Measurement of single-channel water and ion permeability.
• Molecular simulations to probe water pathway formation.

Main Results:

• The self-assembled metallomacrocycle (1) exhibits high single-channel water permeability (10^7-10^8 water/s/channel).
• Compound 1 demonstrates significantly low ion transport, one order of magnitude lower than aquaporins.
• Molecular simulations revealed spongelike aggregates forming transient water pathways through lipid bilayers.

Conclusions:

• Adaptive metallosupramolecular self-assembly offers an efficient and straightforward route to constructing selective channel superstructures.
• This approach provides a promising alternative to complex synthetic methods for artificial water channel development.
• The developed metallomacrocycle shows potential for biomimetic applications requiring precise water and ion transport control.