The motion of an ion in a synthetic molecular ion channel

Molecular dynamics simulation of a synthetic ion channel.

A molecular dynamics simulation has been performed on a synthetic membrane-spanning ion channel, consisting of four alpha-helical peptides, each of which is composed of the amino acids leucine (L) and serine (S), with the sequence Ac-(LSLLLSL)3-CONH2. This four-helix bundle has been shown experimentally to act as a proton-conducting channel in a membrane environment. In the present simulation, ...

Molecular Anatomy of an Ion Channel Explored Utilizing Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Ion channels are transmembrane proteins and represent important cellular components that connect the inside of the cell to its outside in a selective fashion. The linear ion channel peptide gramicidin serves as an excellent prototype for monitoring the organization, dynamics and function of membrane-spanning channels due to a variety of reasons. The fluorescent tryptophan residues in gramicidin...

Ion motion synchronization in an ion-trap resonator.

Using a new type of ion trap, we demonstrate that the length of a packet of charged particles oscillating between two electrostatic mirrors will remain constant under special conditions. The effect can be understood in terms of phase synchronization, where, in a rather counterintuitive way, the repulsive Coulomb interaction between the ions actually holds the packet together. Application of thi...

Ion channel activity drives ion channel expression.

Adsorption Equilibrium and Kinetics of Lead Ion onto Synthetic Ferrihydrites

Batch experiments were conducted to study the adsorption behaviors of lead ion (Pb2+) onto ferrihydrites prepared using three different procedures which were characterized  by textural analysis (BET). The adsorption removal of Pb2+ by the three ferrihydrites (called FH-1, FH-2 and FH-3, respectively) were compared, and FH-3 shows fast adsorption kinetics as well as hig...