1.D.187.  The Biomimetic Potassium Ion-selective Nanopore (K+ NP) Family 

Reproducing the ion selectivity displayed by biological ion channels in artificial nanopore systems has been achieved. Acar et al. 2019 reported a strategy to design solid-state nanopores that selectively transport potassium ions and show negligible conductance for sodium ions. The nanopores contain walls decorated with 4'-aminobenzo-18-crown-6 ether and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules located at one pore entrance. The ionic selectivity stems from facilitated transport of potassium ions in the pore region containing the crown ether, while the highly charged ssDNA plays the role of a cation filter. Achieving potassium selectivity in solid-state nanopores opens up avenues toward advanced separation processes, more efficient biosensing technologies, and novel biomimetic nanopore systems (Acar et al. 2019).

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