Carbon Nanotube Porins in Block Copolymers as Fully Synthetic Mimics of Biological Membranes

Biological membranes provide a fascinating example of a separation system that is multifunctional, tunable, precise, and efficient. Biomimetic membranes, which mimic the architecture of cellular membranes, have the potential to deliver significant improvements in specificity and permeability. We report a fully synthetic biomimetic membrane that incorporates ultra-efficient 1.5 nm diameter carbon nanotube porin (CNTPs) channels in an amphiphilic block-copolymer matrix. We demonstrate that CNTPs maintain high proton and water permeability in these membranes. Our experiments also show that CNTPs can mimic the behavior of biological gap junctions by forming bridges between vesicular compartments that allow transport of small molecules and Ca 2+ ions