1.D.142.  The Aminoimidazole Amphiphile Channel (AIAC) Family

Amino-imidazole amphiphiles self-assemble via multiple H-bonding to form stable artificial Cl^- channels within lipid bilayers (Zheng et al. 2020). The alignment of water/Cl^- wires influences the conduction of ions, envisioned to diffuse along the hydrophilic pathways; at acidic pH, Cl^- /H⁺ symport conducts along a partly protonated channel, while at basic pH, higher Cl^- /OH^- antiport translocates through a neutral channel configuration, which can be greatly activated by applying a strong electric field. This voltage/pH-regulated channel system represents an alternative for ion-pumping via artificial ion-channels, parallel to that of natural biological channel proteins (Zheng et al. 2020).