Nanoporous ionic circuits and ionic mimic of a neuron

在这个由化学学部大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，加州大学欧文分校的Siwy教授和她的团队将研究离子和分子通过完全控制几何形状和表面化学的人工纳米孔的传输。研究将集中在了解如何利用通过的物种和纳米孔壁之间的相互作用来创建有趣的系统来引导和放大离子和分子信号。这项研究的灵感来自于细胞中含有多种不同功能通道的生物膜的特性，这些通道协同作用以支持生理功能。神经信号沿轴突向下传递，并在神经元之间传递信息，这些都是复杂过程的例子，这些过程需要神经细胞膜上平行连接的多个孔。Siwy小组将进行基础研究，寻找离子通过一个纳米孔影响离子和分子通过嵌入同一膜的邻近孔的条件。他们将通过系统地改变两个纳米孔之间的距离，从几纳米到微米尺度来研究这个问题。连接两个具有模拟钾和钠电压门控生物通道传输特性的纳米孔将制备人工离子神经元膜。该研究将使用Siwy小组先前关于孔壁上表面电荷和表面电荷模式对离子和分子运输的影响的研究结果。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供表面化学、纳米制造、生物物理学和生物技术等跨学科的培训机会。学生将学习最先进的制造工具，以制备孔径小至1纳米的纳米孔，调整纳米孔壁的化学性质，并表征其电化学结构。该项目还将为形成神经元等生物系统的合成等效物奠定基础，这可以直接应用于构建人工细胞。所进行的研究将为应用于生物传感器和芯片实验室系统的离子电路的形成提供基本的理解。该奖项将与加州大学欧文分校（University of California, Irvine）于2012年春季创立的物理科学实验室经验（Laboratory Experience in Physical Sciences，简称LEAPS）倡议合作，开展一个拓展项目。每年将有100名中学生和高中生有机会访问加州大学欧文分校和Siwy团队，进行实验，可视化纳米技术在日常生活中的重要性。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Siwy and her group at the University of California, Irvine will study ionic and molecular transport through artificial nanopores of fully controlled geometry and surface chemistry. Research will be focused on understanding how interactions between passing species and the walls of nanopores can be harnessed to create interesting systems to guide and amplify ionic and molecular signals. The research is inspired by properties of biological membranes in a cell that contain multiple channels of different functionalities, acting in concert to support physiological functions. Traveling of the nerve signal down an axon and relay of information between neurons, are examples of complex processes, which require multiple pores connected in parallel in nerve cell membranes. The Siwy group will perform fundamental studies on finding conditions in which transport of ions through one nanopore influences ionic and molecular transport through a neighboring pore embedded in the same membrane. They will investigate this issue by systematic varying the distance between two nanopores from a few nm to a micrometer scale. Connecting two nanopores with transport characteristics mimicking properties of potassium and sodium voltage-gated biological channels will result in the preparation of an artificial ionic neuron membrane. The research will use previous findings from the Siwy group on the influence of surface charge and surface charge patterns on the pore walls on ionic and molecular transport.This project will provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students in surface chemistry, nanofabrication, biophysics and biotechnology. The students will learn state of the art fabrication tools to prepare nanopores with an opening diameter as small as 1 nm, tuning chemical properties of nanopore walls, and characterizing the structures electrochemically. The project will also lay fundamental grounds for the formation of synthetic equivalents of biological systems such as neuron, which could be directly applicable in building an artificial cell. The performed research will provide fundamental understanding of the formation of ionic circuits applicable in biological sensors and lab-on-the chip systems. The award has an outreach program that will be realized in collaboration with the Laboratory Experience in Physical Sciences (LEAPS) initiative, created at the University of California, Irvine in spring 2012. A hundred middle and high school students each year will be given an opportunity to visit UC Irvine and the Siwy group to perform experiments visualizing importance of nanotechnology in everyday life.