Options
2021
Journal Article
Titel
Principles of Small-Molecule Transport through Synthetic Nanopores
Abstract
Synthetic nanopores made from DNA replicate the key biological processes of transporting molecular cargo across lipid bilayers. Understanding transport across the confined lumen of the nanopores is of fundamental interest and of relevance to their rational design for biotechnological applications. Here we reveal the transport principles of organic molecules through DNA nanopores by synergistically combining experiments and computer simulations. Using a highly parallel nanostructured platform, we synchronously measure the kinetic flux across hundreds of individual pores to obtain rate constants. The single-channel transport kinetics are close to the theoretical maximum, while selectivity is determined by the interplay of cargo charge and size, the pores sterics and electrostatics, and th e composition of the surrounding lipid bilayer. The narrow distribution of transport rates implies a high structural homogeneity of DNA nanopores. The molecular passageway through the nanopore is elucidated via coarse-grained constant-velocity steered molecular dynamics simulations. The ensemble simulations pinpoint with high resolution and statistical validity the selectivity filter within the channel lumen and determine the energetic factors governing transport. Our findings on these synthetic pores structurefunction relationship will serve to guide their rational engineering to tailor transport selectivity for cell biological research, sensing, and drug delivery.
Author(s)
Diederichs, Tim
Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/M., 60438, Germany
Ahmad, Katya
Centre for Computational Science, University College London, London, WC1H0AJ, England, U.K.
Burns, Jonathan R.
Department of Chemistry, Institute for Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, London, WC1H0AJ, England, U.K.
Siwy, Zuzanna S.
School of Physical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
Coveney, Peter V.
Centre for Computational Science, University College London, London, WC1H0AJ, England, U.K.; Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1090 GH, The Netherlands
Tampé, Robert
Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/M., 60438, Germany