Selective Nitrate Transmembrane Transport Through Adaptive Weak C─H Bonding Cyanostilbene Water Channels
Abstract
Transmembrane water transport strongly depends on how dynamic, translocating water clusters are stabilized within hydrogen‐bonding (HB) channels. Both structural order and short‐lived disorder of transient channels play important roles in ion and water translocation. Strong HB can result in tight water binding and reduced mobility. We hypothesize that weaker HB binding sites reduce water friction, thereby enhancing water permeation while suppressing ion transport due to their unmet dehydration requirements within membrane. Herein, we show that weak HB CH donor cyanostilbenes promote water transport through adaptive, less‐ordered water channels within the lipid bilayer, with water translocation efficiency depending in part, on the strength of the CH donor sites. Fine‐tuning both CH donor strength and binding geometry enables modulation of anion transport selectivity, ranging from moderate NO 3 − over Cl − selectivity to highly NO 3 − ‐selective transport and ultimately to exclusive water transport. For instance, we achieved over 200‐fold selectivity for NO 3 − over Cl − and ∼100‐fold selectivity for NO 3 − over Br − , while some systems showed no detectable Cl − or Br − transport yet retaining strong NO 3 − transport activity. This work represents a step toward adaptive transmembrane water channels and highlights the potential of HB CH donor channels for water translocation and for increased NO 3 − / Cl − selectivity.
Related
- Engineering Gold Nanoparticles for Transmembrane Anion Transport
- Multi-wavelength photo-activation of transmembrane chloride transport in distinct vesicle populations using photocaged indolocarbazole anionophores
- A Covalent Organic Framework With Staggered Topology for Mimetic Transmembrane Transport of Hydrated Ions
- Trimethylammonium-Substituted Amphiphilic Pillar[ n ]arene Channels for Selective Water Permeation
- Anion‐Selective Channels Formed by Synthetic 13‐Mer Chimeric α ‐Peptide‐Oligourea Foldamers
BibTeX
@article{stroia2026selective,
title = {{Selective Nitrate Transmembrane Transport Through Adaptive Weak C─H Bonding Cyanostilbene Water Channels}},
author = {Ioan Stroia and Dan‐dan Su and Yuhao Li and Niculina Hadade and Ion Grosu and Arie van der Lee and Mihail Barboiu},
journal = {Angewandte Chemie},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1002/ange.4918548},
url = {https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05757625v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Selective Nitrate Transmembrane Transport Through Adaptive Weak C─H Bonding Cyanostilbene Water Channels
AU - Ioan Stroia
AU - Dan‐dan Su
AU - Yuhao Li
AU - Niculina Hadade
AU - Ion Grosu
AU - Arie van der Lee
AU - Mihail Barboiu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/12
JO - Angewandte Chemie
DO - 10.1002/ange.4918548
UR - https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05757625v1
AB - Transmembrane water transport strongly depends on how dynamic, translocating water clusters are stabilized within hydrogen‐bonding (HB) channels. Both structural order and short‐lived disorder of transient channels play important roles in ion and water translocation. Strong HB can result in tight water binding and reduced mobility. We hypothesize that weaker HB binding sites reduce water friction, thereby enhancing water permeation while suppressing ion transport due to their unmet dehydration requirements within membrane. Herein, we show that weak HB CH donor cyanostilbenes promote water transport through adaptive, less‐ordered water channels within the lipid bilayer, with water translocation efficiency depending in part, on the strength of the CH donor sites. Fine‐tuning both CH donor strength and binding geometry enables modulation of anion transport selectivity, ranging from moderate NO 3 − over Cl − selectivity to highly NO 3 − ‐selective transport and ultimately to exclusive water transport. For instance, we achieved over 200‐fold selectivity for NO 3 − over Cl − and ∼100‐fold selectivity for NO 3 − over Br − , while some systems showed no detectable Cl − or Br − transport yet retaining strong NO 3 − transport activity. This work represents a step toward adaptive transmembrane water channels and highlights the potential of HB CH donor channels for water translocation and for increased NO 3 − / Cl − selectivity.
SN - 0044-8249
SN - 1521-3757
ER -