title: From symmetric to asymmetric design of bio-inspired smart single nanochannels.
abstract: Biological nanochannels, such as ion channels and ion pumps, existing in cell membranes and intelligently controlling ions through the cell membrane serve as a big source of bio-inspiration for the scientists to build artificial functional nanochannels. In this Feature Article, a general strategy for the design and synthesis of bio-inspired smart single nanochannels is presented, and put into context with recent progress in constructing symmetric and asymmetric smart single polymer nanochannels with single/double artificial gates which can respond to single/multiple external stimuli, e.g., pH, ions, temperature, light, and molecules. This article is intended to utilize specific stimulus-dependent ionic transport properties inside the single nanochannel as an example to demonstrate the feasibility of the design strategy, and provide an overview of this fascinating research field.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China. jianglei@iccas.ac.cn tianyely@iccas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Huacheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007473:Ion Channels; D008027:Light; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels