Current Research

Artificial Ion Channels

Making use of molecular dynamics and Brownian dynamics to investigate various nanotubes as artificial ion channels. The main purpose of this research is to reproduce the physiological attributes of gramicidin. Cover from our latest publication.

The Potassium Channel

Using the recently unveiled structure of the Potassium Channel we employ a combination of electrostatics, Brownian dynamics and molecular dynamics to investigate the way in which this biological channel discriminates between potasisum and sodium ions, and reproduce some physiological attributes of conduction.

Visit our potassium channel page for a chapter by chapter explanation of the this channel using samples from our recent narrated video of the K⁺ channel.

Click on the image above to see
the potassium channel movie.
(Stuart Ramsden, ANUSF).

The Calcium Channel

By making use of electrostatic calculations and Brownian dynamics simulations, we show how the mechanisms of permeation and selectivity in the calcium channel can arise from simple electrostatic properties.

Click on the image above to see
the calcium channel movie.

Testing Continuum Models of Ion Channels

We have been making a systematic study of the validity of continuum theories of biological ion channels by comparison with Brownian dynamics simulations.

Gramicidin A

Here we show a summary of our efforts to determine the energy landscape in Gramicidin A using a variety of theoretical techniques.

Gramicidin A