About this Research Topic

Background

Proper cellular functions require the maintenance of unsymmetrical compositions (metabolites, water, ions, etc) across biological membranes. In the mammalian cell, while K+ has a concentration of around 100 mM in the cell interior, which is roughly 10-fold higher than that of sodium (~ 10 mM), outside the cell Na+ (100 - 200 mM) is the dominant cation, with K+ at 4 mM. These and other (Cl-, Ca2+, etc) ionic concentration gradients are carefully regulated by membrane transport proteins (channels and pumps). Malfunctioning protein transporters lead to dysregulated ion transports, and consequently, disruptions in required ionic concentration gradient, often resulting in various "channelopathies" that include but are not limited to paralysis (Na+), seizure (K+), cystic fibrosis (Cl-), malignant hyperthermia (Ca2+), and iodide deficiency disorders.

Actively pursued over the past four decades since 1982, artificial membrane transporters were developed not only to elucidate the possible ion transport mechanisms by biological transporters but also to promote medical applications in “channel therapies” and as antibacterial and anticancer agents, offering novel perspectives in drug development. Although many advances in new transport scaffolding and higher transport rates have been made in the field, high transport selectivity, a hallmark of biological transporters, is still exceedingly difficult to replicate in artificial transporters and so far remains investigated to only a limited extent. Furthermore, with respect to the majority of development focusing on Na+, K+ and Cl- ions, there are comparatively much fewer transport studies on water, protons, ions (Ca2+, I-, NO3-, HPO4-, SO42- and other essential transition metal ions) and important nutrients (amino acids, glucose, fatty acids, etc).

In this Research Topic, we would like to highlight continuous and current advancements as well as future trends in artificial membrane transporters and their corresponding applications. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini-Review, and Perspective articles in themes including, but not limited to:

 • Transporters displaying high transport selectivity
 • Transporters not for mainstream molecular species (Na+, K+ and Cl- ions)
 • Mechanosensitive transporters
 • Novel transport scaffolds that have no literature precedents
 • Transporters with novel gating mechanisms
 • Transporters with medicinally or technologically relevant applications

Keywords: Artificial Membrane Transporter, Channel, Carrier, Membrane Transport, Supramolecular Chemistry, Chemical Biology

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