Hydrophobicity is a fundamental property that is responsible for numerous physical and biophysical aspects of molecular interactions in water. Peculiar behavior is expected for water in the vicinity of hydrophobic structures, such as nanopores. Indeed, hydrophobic nanopores can be found in two distinct states, dry and wet, even though the latter is thermodynamically unstable. Transitions between these two states are kinetically hindered in long pores but can be much faster in shorter pores. As it is demonstrated for the first time in this paper, these transitions can be induced by applying a voltage across a membrane with a single hydrophobic nanopore. Such voltage-induced gating in single nanopores can be realized in a reversible manner through electrowetting of inner walls of the nanopores. The resulting I-V curves of such artificial hydrophobic nanopores mimic biological voltage-gated channels.
© 2011 American Chemical Society