Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Facilitated Diffusion01:16

Facilitated Diffusion

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...
Fluid Movement Between Compartments01:18

Fluid Movement Between Compartments

The force applied by fluids against a surface, known as hydrostatic pressure, initiates the transfer of fluid among different compartments. Within our blood vessels, the blood's hydrostatic pressure is a result of the heart's pumping action. At the arteriolar end of capillaries, hydrostatic pressure (capillary blood pressure) exceeds the opposing colloid osmotic pressure created primarily by plasma proteins like albumin. This discrepancy in pressure propels plasma and nutrients from the...
The Significance of Membrane Transport01:44

The Significance of Membrane Transport

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...
Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a membrane via...
Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In  facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a membrane via...
Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport01:17

Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport

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 microscopic...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Room-temperature hyperpolarization <i>via</i> polarization relay through rapid cocrystallization.

Chemical science·2026
Same author

Superior Selective and Fast NH<sub>3</sub> Adsorption of Soft Porous MOF/Ionic Liquid Composites with Ordering Phase Transitions.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same author

Quasi-Discrete Channels of Porous Coordination Polymers for Selective Multiscenario CO<sub>2</sub> Recognition.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2026
Same author

Real-Space Molecular Resolution Imaging of Graphite-Anchored MOF Surfaces via Atomic Force Microscopy at the Liquid-Solid Interface.

Small methods·2026
Same author

Beyond the Paddle-Wheel Mechanism: Hop Function Analysis of Ion Transport in Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same author

Hopping dynamics of a tracer particle confined in a fluctuating lattice.

Soft matter·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Fine-tuning the Size and Minimizing the Noise of Solid-state Nanopores
09:43

Fine-tuning the Size and Minimizing the Noise of Solid-state Nanopores

Published on: October 31, 2013

Fluctuation-driven mass-selective transport in dynamic nanopores.

Zhiye Tang1,2, Ken-Ichi Otake3, Hirotoshi Sakamoto3

  • 1Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Japan.

Nature Communications
|July 15, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Nanopore dynamics, not just static pores, enable precise molecular separation. Optimal dynamic fluctuations enhance diffusion, allowing separation of molecules with similar properties based on mass. This unlocks new material design for nanotechnology.

More Related Videos

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution
11:55

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

Published on: August 16, 2016

Monitoring Protein Adsorption with Solid-state Nanopores
08:51

Monitoring Protein Adsorption with Solid-state Nanopores

Published on: December 2, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Fine-tuning the Size and Minimizing the Noise of Solid-state Nanopores
09:43

Fine-tuning the Size and Minimizing the Noise of Solid-state Nanopores

Published on: October 31, 2013

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution
11:55

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

Published on: August 16, 2016

Monitoring Protein Adsorption with Solid-state Nanopores
08:51

Monitoring Protein Adsorption with Solid-state Nanopores

Published on: December 2, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Nanotechnology
  • Materials Science
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Precise molecular separation is crucial in nanotechnology but challenging for species with similar properties using static designs.
  • Existing methods relying on pore size and host-guest interactions are insufficient for separating closely related molecules.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish a general, predictive framework elucidating how nanopore dynamics govern molecular transport and separation.
  • To demonstrate that nanopore dynamics can be leveraged to overcome limitations of static separation designs.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a theoretical framework analyzing diffusion in a fluctuating periodic potential.
  • Integrated the framework with quantum-chemical energy landscapes of soft porous crystals.
  • Investigated the role of molecular mass in kinetic disparities and separation selectivity.

Main Results:

  • Diffusion and separation efficiency are maximized at an optimal nanopore fluctuation rate, which is dependent on molecular mass.
  • Subtle mass differences are translated into significant kinetic disparities, enabling separation.
  • Selectivity is governed by energy-barrier fluctuation magnitude and alignment with optimal dynamic rates.

Conclusions:

  • Nanopore dynamics represent a key design dimension for controlling molecular separation.
  • Structural dynamics can be tuned via ligand substitution or external fields for rational material design.
  • Provides a theoretical foundation for developing advanced separation materials in nanotechnology.