Tunable Nanopore-Integrated Micro-/Nanofluidic Platform for Ion Transport Control in the Presence of Concentration and Temperature Gradients

Ion transport at nanoscales plays an important role in the human body, including neural signal transmission. We describe a self-assembled particle membrane (SAPM)-based tunable nanopore-integrated micro-/nanofluidic platform that can manipulate ion transport through nanofabricated nanopores. With facile fabrication and easy tuning of channel characteristics, the platform employs various nanoparticles with different material properties and diameters, making it possible to conduct unprecedented nanofluidic transport experiments in the presence of multi-physical fields conditions. From the experimental results under various conditions, we suggest theoretical models considering the ion transports via diffusioosmosis (DO) and diffusion, which would be useful to understand and control the nanoscopic ion transport phenomena governing neural signaling at low temperature conditions. Lastly, we anticipate that the platform would contribute to understanding the underlying mechanism for the neural signal transmission and its cut-off at low temperature conditions, further optimizing various medical protocols such as cryo-anesthesia.