Issue 19, 2013
From the journal:

Nanoscale

Carbohydrate-actuated nanofluidic diode: switchable current rectification in a nanopipette†

Boaz Vilozny,a   Alexander L. Wollenberg,ab   Paolo Actis,a   Daniel Hwang,a   Bakthan Singaramb  and  Nader Pourmand*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Baskin School of Engineering at University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
E-mail: pourmand@soe.ucsc.edu

b Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA

Abstract

Nanofluidic structures share many properties with ligand-gated ion channels. However, actuating ion conductance in artificial systems is a challenge. We have designed a system that uses a carbohydrate-responsive polymer to modulate ion conductance in a quartz nanopipette. The cationic polymer, a poly(vinylpyridine) quaternized with benzylboronic acid groups, undergoes a transition from swollen to collapsed upon binding to monosaccharides. As a result, the current rectification in nanopipettes can be reversibly switched depending on the concentration of monosaccharides. Such molecular actuation of nanofluidic conductance may be used in novel sensors and drug delivery systems.

Graphical abstract: Carbohydrate-actuated nanofluidic diode: switchable current rectification in a nanopipette

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3NR02105J
Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Apr 2013
Accepted
29 Jul 2013
First published
02 Aug 2013

Nanoscale, 2013,5, 9214-9221

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Carbohydrate-actuated nanofluidic diode: switchable current rectification in a nanopipette

B. Vilozny, A. L. Wollenberg, P. Actis, D. Hwang, B. Singaram and N. Pourmand, Nanoscale, 2013, 5, 9214 DOI: 10.1039/C3NR02105J

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