Search results for "Nanofluidic diode"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Electrical Pumping of Potassium Ions Against an External Concentration Gradient in a Biological Ion Channel
2013
We show experimentally and theoretically that significant currents can be obtained with a biological ion channel, the OmpF porin of Escherichia coli, using zero-average potentials as driving forces. The channel rectifying properties can be used to pump potassium ions against an external concentration gradient under asymmetric pH conditions. The results are discussed in terms of the ionic selectivity and rectification ratio of the channel. The physical concepts involved may be applied to separation processes with synthetic nanopores and to bioelectrical phenomena. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
Concatenated logic functions using nanofluidic diodes with all-electrical inputs and outputs
2018
[EN] Nanopore-based logical schemes in ionic solutions typically involve single gates and chemical inputs. The design of computer-like functions requires the consecutive concatenation of several gates and the use of electrical potentials and currents to facilitate the downstream transfer of electrochemical information. We have demonstrated the robust operation of concatenated logic functions using biomimetic nanofluidic diodes based on single pore membranes. To this end, we have implemented first the logic functions AND and OR with combinations of single nanopores using all-electrical input and output signals. The concatenation of these gates allows the output of the OR gate to act as one o…
Carbohydrate-Mediated Biomolecular Recognition and Gating of Synthetic Ion Channels
2013
Nanochannel-based biosensing devices have been proposed for selective detection of protein analyte molecules. However, the design and miniaturization of reusable channel-based biosensors is still a challenge in nanoscience and biotechnology. We present here a reusable nanofluidic biosensor based on reversible lectin-carbohydrate interactions. The nanochannels are fabricated in heavy ion tracked polymer membranes. The channel walls are functionalized with p-aminophenyl alpha-D-mannopyranoside (APMP) monolayers through carbodiimide coupling chemistry. The chemical (mannopyranoside) groups on the inner channel walls serve as binding sites and interact with specific protein molecules. The bindi…
Optimizing Energy Transduction of Fluctuating Signals with Nanofluidic Diodes and Load Capacitors
2018
[EN] The design and experimental implementation of hybrid circuits is considered allowing charge transfer and energy conversion between nanofluidic diodes in aqueous ionic solutions and conventional electronic elements such as capacitors. The fundamental concepts involved are reviewed for the case of fluctuating zero-average external potentials acting on single pore and multipore membranes. This problem is relevant to electrochemical energy conversion and storage, the stimulus-response characteristics of nanosensors and actuators, and the estimation of the accumulative effects caused by external signals on biological ion channels. Half-wave and full-wave voltage doublers and quadruplers can…
Tetraalkylammonium Cations Conduction through a Single Nanofluidic Diode: Experimental and Theoretical Studies
2017
[EN] We describe experimentally and theoretically the concentration-dependent conduction of tetraalkylammonium (TAA+) cations through a nanofluidic diode fabricated in a polymer membrane via asymmetric track-etching techniques. This single-pore membrane exhibits current rectification characteristics because of the ionized carboxylate groups on the pore surface. We use aqueous solutions of potassium (K+ ), ammonium (A+ ), tetramethylammonium (TMA+ ), tetraethylammonium (TEA+ ), and tetrabutylammonium (TBA+ ) ions with concentrations ranging from 50 to 500 mM under acidic (pH 3.5) and physiological (pH 6.5) conditions. Compared with the K+ and A+ ions, the TMA+ , TEA+ , and TBA+ ions show rel…
Converting external potential fluctuations into nonzero time-average electric currents using a single nanopore
2015
The possibility of taking advantage of a fluctuating environment for energy and information transduction is a significant challenge in biological and artificial nanostructures. We demonstrate here directional electrical transduction from fluctuating external signals using a single nanopore of conical shape immersed in an ionic aqueous solution. To this end, we characterize experimentally the average output currents obtained by the electrical rectification of zero time-average input potentials. The transformation of external potential fluctuations into nonzero time-average responses using a single nanopore in liquid state is of fundamental significance for biology and nanophysics. This energ…
Asymmetric nanopore rectification for ion pumping, electrical power generation, and information processing applications
2011
Single-track, asymmetric nanopores can currently be functionalised with a spatially inhomogeneous distribution of fixed charges and a variety of pore tip shapes. Optimising the asymmetric nanopore characteristics is crucial for practical applications in nanofluidics. We have addressed here this question for three cases based on different input/output chemical and electrical signals: (i) ion pumping up a concentration gradient by means of a periodic, time-dependent bias potential, (ii) information processing with a single nanopore acting as the nanofluidic diode of a logic gate, and (iii) electrical energy harvesting using a nanopore that separates two solutions of different salt concentrati…
Multipore membranes with nanofluidic diodes allowing multifunctional rectification and logical responses
2016
[EN] We have arranged two multipore membranes with conical nanopores in a three-compartment electrochemical cell. The membranes act as tunable nanofluidic diodes whose functionality is entirely based on the pH-reversed ion current rectification and does not require specific surface functionalizations. This electrochemical arrangement can display different electrical behaviors (quasi-linear ohmic response and inward/outward rectifications) as a function of the electrolyte concentration in the external solutions and the applied voltage at the pore tips. The multifunctional response permits to implement different logical responses including NOR and INHIBIT functions.