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Abstract Electrolyte chemistry plays an important role in the transport properties of analytes through nanopores. Here, we report the translocation properties of the protein human serum transferrin (hSTf) in asymmetric LiCl salt concentrations with either positive (Ctrans/Ccis< 1) or negative chemical gradients (Ctrans/Ccis> 1). Thecisside concentration was fixed at 4 M for positive chemical gradients and at 0.5 M LiCl for negative chemical gradients, while thetransside concentration varied between 0.5 to 4 M which resulted in six different configurations, respectively, for both positive and negative gradient types. For positive chemical gradient conditions, translocations were observed in all six configurations for at least one voltage polarity whereas with negative gradient conditions, dead concentrations where no events at either polarity were observed. The flux of Li+and Cl−ions and their resultant cation or anion enrichment zones, as well as the interplay of electrophoretic and electroosmotic transport directions, would determine whether hSTf can traverse across the pore.
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Theoretical study of active secondary transport: Unexpected differences in molecular mechanisms for antiporters and symporters
Successful functioning of biological cells relies on efficient translocation of different materials across cellular membranes. An important part of this transportation system is membrane channels that are known as antiporters and symporters. They exploit the energy stored as a trans-membrane gradient of one type of molecules to transport the other types of molecules against their gradients. For symporters, the directions of both fluxes for driving and driven species coincide, while for antiporters, the fluxes move in opposite directions. There are surprising experimental observations that despite differing only by the direction of transport fluxes, the molecular mechanisms of translocation adopted by antiporters and symporters seem to be drastically different. We present chemical-kinetic models to quantitatively investigate this phenomenon. Our theoretical approach allows us to explain why antiporters mostly utilize a single-site transportation when only one molecule of any type might be associated with the channel. At the same time, the transport in symporters requires two molecules of different types to be simultaneously associated with the channel. In addition, we investigate the kinetic constraints and efficiency of symporters and compare them with the same properties of antiporters. Our theoretical analysis clarifies some important physical–chemical features of cellular trans-membrane transport.
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- PAR ID:
- 10363166
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journal of Chemical Physics
- Volume:
- 156
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0021-9606
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- Article No. 085102
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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