Scientists
first to mimic nature's vital potassium ion channel
Lincoln,
Neb., July 17th, 2012
An
international team of scientists, including chemist Xiao Cheng Zeng of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has created what is in effect a nanoscale sieve
that is very selective in what it will allow to pass through -- and performs in
much the same way as the potassium ion channels that are vital components of
virtually all living cells.
It's also
the first synthetic nanotube that possesses a uniform diameter, as well as
being self-assembling and hydrophobic, characteristics that could lead to
industrial and medical breakthroughs.
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