Abstract
Progress in the synthesis of membrane-bound ion channels is reviewed. Important results
from several groups are highlighted and contributions from the authors’ group are
summarized. Topics covered include synthetic approaches towards oligo-THF amino acids,
oligopyrrolidines and gramicidin hybrid channels. Points of interest are the importance
of self-assembly systems, the functional analysis (ion selectivity, gating, asymmetric
insertion and asymmetric function) and the structural characterization of the channel.
1 Introduction
2 Polyether-Containing Ion Channels
3 Peptide β-Helix as Ion Channel Motif
4 Ion Selectivity in Synthetic Ion Channels
5 THF-Gramicidin Hybrid Channels and Asymmetric Insertion into the Membrane
6 Minigramicidins: Hydrophobic Match/Mismatch with the Membrane and a Conformational
Switch
7 Synthetic Ion Channels by Self-Assembly of the Pore
8 Outlook
Key words
synthetic ion channels - gramicidin hybrids - amino acids - bioorganic chemistry -
supramolecular chemistry
