Multicellular organisms rely on electrical signaling to communicate messages within and between different tissues. Channel-mediated ionic transport is typically modeled with conductance-based formulations that assume currents are the result of ionic electrical drift, without taking diffusion into consideration [1]. In contrast, formulations of current that assume ionic flux depends on electrica...

The coexistence of neuronal activity regimes has been reported under normal and pathological conditions. Such multistability could enhance the flexibility of the nervous system and has many implications for motor control, memory, and decision making. Multistability is commonly promoted by neuromodulation targeting specific membrane ionic currents. Here, we investigated how modulation of differe...

Aluminum nanocontact conductance histograms are studied experimentally from room temperature up to near the bulk melting point. The dominant stable configurations for this metal show a very early crossover from shell structures at low wire diameters to ionic subshell structures at larger diameters. At these larger radii, the favorable structures are temperature-independent and consistent with t...

A protein that imitates the sequence of a highly conserved segment predicted to line the pore of dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type calcium channels was designed and synthesized. Single-channel conductance properties were studied in planar lipid bilayers. The synthetic protein emulates the ionic conductance, ionic selectivity, and pharmacological properties of the authentic calcium channel, inclu...

We use space-charge (SC) theory (also called the capillary pore model) to describe the ionic conductance, G, of charged carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Based on the reversible adsorption of hydroxyl ions to CNT pore walls, we use a Langmuir isotherm for surface ionization and make calculations as a function of pore size, salt concentration c, and pH. Using realistic values for surface site density and...

Whole cell recording techniques were employed to measure whole cell (Gw) and specific membrane (Gm) conductance in turtle and rat pyramidal neurons in slices. Results indicate that rat neurons are 4.2 times more conductive compared with turtle neurons at 25 degrees C, which is accentuated by temperature, so that rat neurons at 37 degrees C are 22 times more conductive than turtle neurons at 15 ...

In this report, I present a simple model using springs to conceptualize the relationship between ionic conductances across a cellular membrane and their effect on membrane potential. The equation describing the relationships linking membrane potential, ionic equilibrium potential, and ionic conductance is of similar form to that describing the force generated by a spring as a function of its di...

The formation of lipid bilayers between ionic liquid droplets is presented as a new means of forming functional bimolecular networks. Ionic liquids are molten salts that have a number of interesting properties, such as the ability to be a liquid at room temperature and exceedingly low vapor pressure. Our research demonstrates that it is possible to consistently and repeatable form lipid bilayer...

There has been tremendous experimental progress in the last decade in identifying the structure and function of biological pores (ion channels) and fabricating synthetic pores. Despite this progress, many questions still remain about the mechanisms and universal features of ionic transport in these systems. In this paper, we examine the use of nanopores to probe ion transport and to construct f...

The resting ionic conductances of frog sartorius muscle fibers have been determined in a variety of conditions in order to measure the potassium conductance of the tubular and surface membranes (gK(t) and gK(s)) and the chloride conductance of the tubular and surface membranes (gCl(t) and gCl(s)). In both normal fibers and fibers without tubules, measurements of input resistance and diameter we...