ja8b09580_si_001.pdf (5.79 MB)
An Artificial Molecular Shuttle Operates in Lipid Bilayers for Ion Transport
journal contribution
posted on 2018-11-16, 00:00 authored by Sujun Chen, Yichuan Wang, Ting Nie, Chunyan Bao, Chenxi Wang, Tianyi Xu, Qiuning Lin, Da-Hui Qu, Xueqing Gong, Yi Yang, Linyong Zhu, He TianInspired
by natural biomolecular machines, synthetic molecular-level
machines have been proven to perform well-defined mechanical tasks
and measurable work. To mimic the function of channel proteins, we
herein report the development of a synthetic molecular shuttle, [2]rotaxane 3, as a unimolecular vehicle that can be inserted
into lipid bilayers to perform passive ion transport through its stochastic
shuttling motion. The [2]rotaxane molecular shuttle is composed of
an amphiphilic molecular thread with three binding stations, which
is interlocked in a macrocycle wheel component that tethers a K+ carrier. The structural characteristics enable the rotaxane
to transport ions across the lipid bilayers, similar to a cable car,
transporting K+ with an EC50 value of 1.0 μM
(3.0 mol % relative to lipid). We expect that this simple molecular
machine will provide new opportunities for developing more effective
and selective ion transporters.