Fig. 1. Molecular design and self-assembly of nanopores.

a Chemical structures of cholic acid-derived amphiphilic transmembrane channels Ch-Pn, Ch-Cn and Ch-H. b Computationally optimized structure of Ch-C1 at the level of B3LYP/6-31 G* in the gas phase. c Schematic illustration of one possible means to form a toroidal channel of ~1.6 nm in diameter by Ch-C1, a process that is primarily assisted by cholesterol molecules (Ch in blue), for mediating ion transport across the membrane.