Enhancing K+ transport activity and selectivity of synthetic K+ channels via electron-donating effects

Abstract

A minor alteration in structure of a previously reported synthetic K⁺ channel via replacing the electron-withdrawing group with an electron-donating group leads to enhancement in activity by 160% and in selectivity by >50%. As a result, the new K⁺ channel 10F5, despite having a simple structure, exhibits a high K⁺/Na⁺ selectivity of 14.0.