Ion Clustering Regulated by Extreme Nanoconfinement Enables Mechanosensitive Nanochannels

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel ion clustering mechanism in extremely confined nanochannels that enables mechanically controlled ion transport, inspired by transistor technology, with potential applications in biosensing and neuromorphic devices.

Contribution

It proposes a new confinement-regulated ion clustering mechanism in nanochannels, enabling mechanosensitive control of ion transport through a force-ion transistor concept.

Findings

Ion clustering is regulated by nanoconfinement, affecting ion transport.

The force-ion transistor allows mechanical gating of ion flow.

Insights into mechanosensing and electromechanical coupling in biosystems.

Abstract

Mechanosensitive ion nanochannels regulate transport by undergoing conformational changes within nanopores. However, achieving precise control over these conformational states remains a major challenge for both artificial soft or solid pores. Here, we propose an alternative mechanism that modulates the charge carrier density inside nanopores, inspired by transistors in solid-state electronics. This strategy leverages a novel phenomenon of confinement-regulated ion clustering in two-dimensional extremely confined nanochannels, revealed by extensive $\mu$s-scale enhanced-sampling molecular simulations based on an \emph{ab initio}-refined force field and nucleation theory. The resulting \emph{force-ion transistor} enables mechanically gated control of ion transport and provides a conceptual foundation for designing ionic mechanical logic gates. Our findings offer new insights into piezochannel mechanosensing and electromechanical coupling in biosystems beyond conformational signaling, opening pathways to integrate artificial ion channels with neuromorphic devices for processing mechanical stimuli.