Chiral Drug Resolution Nanochannels Inspired by Mitochondrial Membranes

Abstract

Fungicides have been widely used in agricultural production; however, their extensive use has caused serious environmental pollution. Because of its high efficiency, low toxicity, and high selectivity, chiral fungicides can effectively reduce the amount of fungicides and increase the efficiency. Hence, how to efficiently separate the enantiomers of chiral drugs with different structures is of significant research value. The multispecific recognition and selective control of the mitochondrial membrane during the transfer of substances allow us to isolate and enrich monochiral pesticide enantiomers. In this study, based on the conical nanochannel modification by L-alanine pillar[5]arene, combined with the “synergistic effect of double-layer membrane channel” of the mitochondrial membrane in living organisms, three different modes of double-layer serial biomimetic nanochannels were constructed. At the same time, the effect of three different modes of the tandem double nanochannel on hand selectivity is investigated. The results demonstrate that the SOD-In double nanochannels exhibit the optimal separation performance. In the experiment, using current as the detection signal, the selectivity ratio of R-propranolol/S-propranolol was determined to be 43.67. The transmembrane transport selectivity coefficient α_(R-/S-PPL) was 13.19 in the single molecule transmission experiment. This study provides an effective method for highly selective enrichment of single configuration chiral pesticides, promoting green agriculture development.