“Ionic Transport through Single Solid-State Nanopores Controlled with Thermally Nanoactuated Macromolecular Gates”

B. YAMEEN; M. ALI; R. NEUMANN; W. ENSINGER; W. KNOLL; O. AZZARONI

SMALL

VCH-Wiley

Año: 2009 vol. 5 p. 1287 - 1291

1613-6810

Here we describe for the first time the application of solid-state nanopores modified with thermoresponsive brushes as molecular gates nanoactuated by temperature-driven conformational transitions. We demonstrate the creation of ‘‘fully artificial’’ smart nanopores with tunable nanoscale diameters controlled by temperature changes in the physiological range. These results demonstratethe huge potential of ‘‘soft nanotechnology’’to emulate and replicate complex biological functions using soft matter-based man-made systems.