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Aquaporins

Aquaporins

Aquaporins or AQPs are a family of integral membrane proteins whose primary function is to transport water, while some called aquaglyceroporins also transport glycerol. In addition, aquaporins have also been suspected to be involved in transporting volatile substances, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia, across membranes. Such AQPs that act as gas channels are often highly expressed in cells involved in the gaseous exchange, such as red blood cells, epithelial cells, and pulmonary capillaries.

Ion Channels

Ion Channels

The movement of ions like sodium, potassium, and calcium into and out of the cell is essential to maintain the electrochemical gradient in living cells. The ion channels—a class of membrane transport proteins—help maintain this ionic gradient for the smooth functioning of physiological activities such as maintaining cell size and volume, conducting nerve impulses, and gas and nutrient exchange.
Ion channels are specialized integral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane that allow...

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Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution

Published on: August 16, 2016

Rectifying artificial nanochannels with multiple interconvertible permeability states.

Ruocan Qian^1,2,3,4, Mansha Wu^5,6,7,8, Zhenglin Yang⁹

¹Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P. R. China. ruocanqian@ecust.edu.cn.

Nature Communications

|March 6, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed artificial nanochannels using DNAzyme-functionalized glass nanopipettes for precise control over molecular transport. These adaptable channels offer tunable permeability for advanced cellular functions and targeted drug delivery.

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Area of Science:

Biomimetic materials science
Nanotechnology
Molecular engineering

Background:

Transmembrane channels are crucial for cellular transport.
Biomimetic channels are being developed to mimic natural channel functions.
Existing artificial channels lack precise, reversible control over permeability.

Purpose of the Study:

To create artificial biomimetic nanochannels with tunable and reversible permeability.
To demonstrate selective molecular transport across cell membranes using these nanochannels.
To explore advanced applications like gene silencing and ion transport in living cells.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of DNAzyme-functionalized glass nanopipettes.
Tuning nanochannel surface wettability and charge using metal ions and DNAzyme-substrates.
Reversible switching between multiple distinct permeability states.
Integration of nanochannels into living cell plasma membranes.

Main Results:

Demonstrated reversible switching of nanochannels between four distinct permeability states.
Achieved selective transport of dye molecules across the plasma membrane of living cells.
Successfully performed gene silencing of miR-21 in cancer cells.
Enabled selective Ca2+ transport into PC-12 cells.

Conclusions:

Developed a versatile tool for designing rectifying artificial nanochannels with on-demand functions.
Artificial nanochannels offer precise control over molecular permeation for biological applications.
This technology enables advanced cellular manipulations and therapeutic interventions.