Tamsyn A. Hilder

Salt Rejection and Water Transport Through Boron Nitride Nanotubes

Nanotube-based water-purification devices have the potential to transform the field of desalination and demineralization through their ability to remove salts and heavy metals without significantly affecting the fast flow of water molecules. Boron nitride nanotubes have shown superior water flow properties compared to carbon nanotubes, and are thus expected to provide a more efficient water purification device. Using molecular dynamics simulations it is shown that a (5, 5) boron nitride nanotube embedded in a silicon nitride membrane can, in principle, obtain 100% salt rejection at concentrations as high as 1 M owing to a high energy barrier while still allowing water molecules to flow at a rate as high as 10.7 water molecules per nanosecond (or 0.9268 L m(-2) h(-1)). Furthermore, ions continue to be rejected under the influence of high hydrostatic pressures up to 612 MPa. When the nanotube radius is increased to 4.14 A the tube becomes cation-selective, and at 5.52 A the tube becomes anion-selective.

Boron Nitride Nanotubes Selectively Permeable to Cations or Anions

Biological ion channels in membranes are selectively permeable to specific ionic species. They maintain the resting membrane potential, generate propagated action potentials, and control a wide variety of cell functions. Here it is demonstrated theoretically that boron nitride nanotubes have the ability to carry out some of the important functions of biological ion channels. Boron nitride nanotubes with radii of 4.83 and 5.52 A embedded in a silicon nitride membrane are selectively permeable to cations and anions, respectively. They broadly mimic some of the permeation characteristics of gramicidin and chloride channels. Using distributional molecular dynamics, which is a combination of molecular and stochastic dynamics simulations, the properties of these engineered nanotubes are characterized, such as the free energy encountered by charged particles, the water-ion structure within the pore, and the current-voltage and current-concentration profiles. These engineered nanotubes have potential applications as sensitive biosensors, antibiotics, or filtration devices.

Synthetic Chloride-Selective Carbon Nanotubes Examined by Using Molecular and Stochastic Dynamics

Synthetic channels, such as nanotubes, offer the possibility of ion-selective nanoscale pores which can broadly mimic the functions of various biological ion channels, and may one day be used as antimicrobial agents, or for treatment of cystic fibrosis. We have designed a carbon nanotube that is selectively permeable to anions. The virtual nanotubes are constructed from a hexagonal array of carbon atoms (graphene) rolled up to form a tubular structure, with an effective radius of 4.53 Å and length of 34 Å. The pore ends are terminated with polar carbonyl groups. The nanotube thus formed is embedded in a lipid bilayer and a reservoir containing ionic solutions is added at each end of the pore. The conductance properties of these synthetic channels are then examined with molecular and stochastic dynamics simulations. Profiles of the potential of mean force at 0 mM reveal that a cation moving across the pore encounters an insurmountable free energy barrier of ∼25 kT in height. In contrast, for anions, there are two energy wells of ∼12 kT near each end of the tube, separated by a central free energy barrier of 4 kT. The conductance of the pore, with symmetrical 500 mM solutions in the reservoirs, is 72 pS at 100 mV. The current saturates with an increasing ionic concentration, obeying a Michaelis-Menten relationship. The pore is normally occupied by two ions, and the rate-limiting step in conduction is the time taken for the resident ion near the exit gate to move out of the energy well.

Computational modeling of transport in synthetic nanotubes

UNLABELLEDnSynthetic nanotubes that have the ability to broadly mimic the function of biological ion channels have extraordinary potential for various applications, from ultrasensitive biosensors to efficient water purification devices. As a result of their immense potential, the design and fabrication of such synthetic nanotubes is rapidly gaining momentum. We briefly review recent theoretical and experimental studies on nanoscale cylindrical hollow tubes constructed from carbon, boron, and nitrogen atoms that are able to selectively transport water molecules, cations (positively charged ions), or anions (negatively charged ions) similar to various biological ion channels.nnnFROM THE CLINICAL EDITORnThis review discusses the current status of synthetic nanotube research, including recent theoretical and experimental studies on nanoscale cylindrical hollow tubes constructed from carbon, boron, and nitrogen atoms that are able to selectively transport water molecules, cations or anions similar to biological ion channels.

Insertion mechanism and stability of boron nitride nanotubes in lipid bilayers

We provide insight into the interaction of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) with cell membranes to better understand their improved biocompatibility compared to carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Contrary to CNTs, no computational studies exist investigating the insertion mechanism and stability of BNNTs in membranes. Our molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that BNNTs are spontaneously attracted to lipid bilayers and are stable once inserted. They insert via a lipid-mediated, passive insertion mechanism. BNNTs demonstrate similar characteristics to more biocompatible functionalized CNTs.

Conductance properties of the inwardly rectifying channel, Kir3.2: Molecular and Brownian dynamics study

Using the recently unveiled crystal structure, and molecular and Brownian dynamics simulations, we elucidate several conductance properties of the inwardly rectifying potassium channel, Kir3.2, which is implicated in cardiac and neurological disorders. We show that the pore is closed by a hydrophobic gating mechanism similar to that observed in Kv1.2. Once open, potassium ions move into, but not out of, the cell. The asymmetrical current-voltage relationship arises from the lack of negatively charged residues at the narrow intracellular mouth of the channel. When four phenylalanine residues guarding the intracellular gate are mutated to glutamate residues, the channel no longer shows inward rectification. Inward rectification is restored in the mutant Kir3.2 when it becomes blocked by intracellular Mg(2+). Tertiapin, a polypeptide toxin isolated from the honey bee, is known to block several subtypes of the inwardly rectifying channels with differing affinities. We identify critical residues in the toxin and Kir3.2 for the formation of the stable complex. A lysine residue of tertiapin protrudes into the selectivity filter of Kir3.2, while two other basic residues of the toxin form hydrogen bonds with acidic residues located just outside the channel entrance. The depth of the potential of mean force encountered by tertiapin is -16.1kT, thus indicating that the channel will be half-blocked by 0.4μM of the toxin.

Synthetic cation-selective nanotube: Permeant cations chaperoned by anions

The ability to design ion-selective, synthetic nanotubes which mimic biological ion channels may have significant implications for the future treatment of bacteria, diseases, and as ultrasensitive biosensors. We present the design of a synthetic nanotube made from carbon atoms that selectively allows monovalent cations to move across and rejects all anions. The cation-selective nanotube mimics some of the salient properties of biological ion channels. Before practical nanodevices are successfully fabricated it is vital that proof-of-concept computational studies are performed. With this in mind we use molecular and stochastic dynamics simulations to characterize the dynamics of ion permeation across a single-walled (10, 10), 36 Å long, carbon nanotube terminated with carboxylic acid with an effective radius of 5.08 Å. Although cations encounter a high energy barrier of 7 kT, its height is drastically reduced by a chloride ion in the nanotube. The presence of a chloride ion near the pore entrance thus enables a cation to enter the pore and, once in the pore, it is chaperoned by the resident counterion across the narrow pore. The moment the chaperoned cation transits the pore, the counterion moves back to the entrance to ferry another ion. The synthetic nanotube has a high sodium conductance of 124 pS and shows linear current-voltage and current-concentration profiles. The cation-anion selectivity ratio ranges from 8 to 25, depending on the ionic concentrations in the reservoirs.

Conduction and block of inward rectifier K+ channels: Predicted structure of a potent blocker of kir2.1

Dysfunction of Kir2.1, thought to be the major component of inward currents, I(K1), in the heart, has been linked to various channelopathies, such as short Q-T syndrome. Unfortunately, currently no known blockers of Kir2.x channels exist. In contrast, Kir1.1b, predominantly expressed in the kidney, is potently blocked by an oxidation-resistant mutant of the honey bee toxin tertiapin (tertiapin-Q). Using various computational tools, we show that both channels are closed by a hydrophobic gating mechanism and inward rectification occurs in the absence of divalent cations and polyamines. We then demonstrate that tertiapin-Q binds to the external vestibule of Kir1.1b and Kir2.1 with K(d) values of 11.6 nM and 131 μM, respectively. We find that a single mutation of tertiapin-Q increases the binding affinity for Kir2.1 by 5 orders of magnitude (K(d) = 0.7 nM). This potent blocker of Kir2.1 may serve as a structural template from which potent compounds for the treatment of various diseases mediated by this channel subfamily, such as cardiac arrhythmia, can be developed.

Interaction of Boron Nitride Nanosheets with Model Cell Membranes

Boron nitride nanomaterials have attracted attention for biomedical applications, due to their improved biocompatibility when compared with carbon nanomaterials. Recently, graphene and graphene oxide nanosheets have been shown, both experimentally and computationally, to destructively extract phospholipids from Escherichia coli. Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) have exciting potential biological and environmental applications, for example the ability to remove oil from water. These applications are likely to increase the exposure of prokaryotes and eukaryotes to BNNSs. Yet, despite their promise, the interaction between BNNSs and cell membranes has not yet been investigated. Here, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were used to demonstrate that BNNSs are spontaneously attracted to the polar headgroups of the lipid bilayer. The BNNSs do not passively cross the lipid bilayer, most likely due to the large forces experienced by the BNNSs. This study provides insight into the interaction of BNNSs with cell membranes and may aid our understanding of their improved biocompatibility.

Designing a C84 fullerene as a specific voltage-gated sodium channel blocker.

Fullerene derivatives demonstrate considerable potential for numerous biological applications, such as the effective inhibition of HIV protease. Recently, they were identified for their ability to indiscriminately block biological ion channels. A fullerene derivative which specifically blocks a particular ion channel could lead to a new set of drug leads for the treatment of various ion channel-related diseases. Here, we demonstrate their extraordinary potential by designing a fullerene which mimics some of the functions of μ-conotoxin, a peptide derived from cone snail venom which potently binds to the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel (NavAb). We show, using molecular dynamics simulations, that the C84 fullerene with six lysine derivatives uniformly attached to its surface is selective to NavAb over a voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv1.3). The side chain of one of the lysine residues protrudes into the selectivity filter of the channel, while the methionine residues located just outside of the channel form hydrophobic contacts with the carbon atoms of the fullerene. The modified C84 fullerene strongly binds to the NavAb channel with an affinity of 46 nM but binds weakly to Kv1.3 with an affinity of 3 mM. This potent blocker of NavAb may serve as a structural template from which potent compounds can be designed for the targeting of mammalian Nav channels. There is a genuine need to target mammalian Nav channels as a form of treatment of various diseases which have been linked to their malfunction, such as epilepsy and chronic pain.