Size-dependent forced PEG partitioning into channels: VDAC, OmpC, and α-hemolysin
Abstract
With consequences for the selective partitioning of large molecules in cells, polymer partitioning into nanopores is instructive for single-molecule sensing as well as for polymer-assisted transport and packaging. Here we detect and analyze not only passive but also forced size-dependent partitioning of binary mixtures of differently sized PEGs. We probe three structurally different channels exhibiting forced partitioning that can be understood conceptually as well as quantitatively within a “polymers-pushing-polymers” model, allowing good estimates for the size-dependent pore penetration energy differences. Beyond proof of concept, forced partitioning in cells can now be recognized and used as a new tool for molecule-selective transport and active osmotically regulated packaging.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 27, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1602716113
Entities
People
- M. Alphan Aksoyoglu
- Murugappan Muthukumar
- Philip A. Gurnev
- Rudolf Podgornik
- Sergey M. Bezrukov
- V. Adrian Parsegian
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- United States Department of Energy
- University of Ljubljana
- University of Massachusetts