Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China.
Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P.R. China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2016 Oct 10;55(42):13056-13060. doi: 10.1002/anie.201606469.
pH-gated ion channels in cell membranes play important roles in the cell's physiological activities. Many artificial nanochannels have been fabricated to mimic the natural phenomenon of pH-gated ion transport. However, these nanochannels show pH sensitivity only within certain pH ranges. Wide-range pH sensitivity has not yet been achieved. Herein, for the first time, we provide a versatile strategy to increase the pH-sensitive range by using dual amphoteric nanochannels. In particular, amphoteric polymeric nanochannels with carboxyl groups derived from a block copolymer (BCP) precursor and nanochannels with hydroxyl groups made from anodic alumina oxide (AAO) were used. Due to a synergistic effect, the hybrid nanochannels exhibit nanofluidic diode properties with single rectification direction over a wide pH range. The novel strategy presented here is a scalable, low-cost, and robust alternative for the construction of large-area membranes for nanofluidic applications, such as the separation of biomolecules.
细胞膜中的 pH 门控离子通道在细胞的生理活动中发挥着重要作用。许多人工纳米通道被制造出来以模拟 pH 门控离子传输的自然现象。然而，这些纳米通道仅在一定的 pH 范围内表现出 pH 敏感性。宽范围的 pH 敏感性尚未实现。在此，我们首次提供了一种使用双两性纳米通道来增加 pH 敏感性范围的通用策略。具体而言，使用了源自嵌段共聚物 (BCP) 前体的具有羧基的两性聚合物纳米通道和由阳极氧化铝 (AAO) 制成的具有羟基的纳米通道。由于协同效应，混合纳米通道在很宽的 pH 范围内表现出具有单一整流方向的纳米流控二极管特性。这里提出的新策略是构建用于纳米流应用的大面积膜的一种可扩展、低成本且稳健的替代方案，例如生物分子的分离。
