Potassium-induced ionic conduction through a single nanofluidic pore modified with acyclic polyether derivative.

Potassium-induced ionic conduction through a single nanofluidic pore modified with acyclic polyether derivative. Anal Chim Acta. 2018 Dec 18;1039:132-139 Authors: Ali M, Ahmed I, Nasir S, Duznovic I, Niemeyer CM, Ensinger W Abstract Solid-state nanofluidic pores have been attracting considerable attention of scientific community because of their structural and chemical resemblance with biological ion channels for mimicking biological processes in living systems. Compared to ion channels, synthetic nanopores exhibit high stability, control over pore dimensions (size and geometry) and their surface chemical properties can be tuned on demand. Therefore, they are considered perfect candidates to design and develop nanofluidic sensory devices by introducing a variety of functional moieties on the inner pore surface. Here, we present a nanofluidic pore for the recognition of potassium cations using acyclic polyether derivative in confined environment. To this end, amine terminated acyclic polyether derivative (bis-podand-NH2) is synthesized and covalently coupled with the carboxylic acid groups on the single conical nanopore walls prepared in polymer membrane. The bis-podand moieties fixed on the pore walls in the presence of potassium cation yield recognition domain for the specific binding of K+ cation. Therefore, the changes in rectified ion flux are only noticed on exposure to potassium chloride solution due to formation of positively ...
Source: Analytica Chimica Acta - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Anal Chim Acta Source Type: research