Presentations
Conduction and selectivity between monovalent ions within the potassium channel
We propose to develop a unified theory of conduction through the open potassium (KcsA) channel, taking account of energy quantisation, density of states, charge discreteness, and fluctuations in potential, that were largely ignored in earlier research. Our theory will encompass, as special cases or approximations, several earlier theoretical approaches and will enable us to account for some enduring puzzles and paradoxes of ion channel dynamics, e.g. fast potassium conduction by the potassium channel while discriminating against the (smaller) sodium ion by a factor of more than 1000:1. The results will readily be extendable to other channels and to artificial nanopores.
Publications