Leaving constraints of single nanopores and designing biomimetic nanopore arrays

Single nanopores revolutionized biological and chemical sensing, enabled discovery and understanding of transport phenomena at nanoconfinement as well as preparation of biomimetic systems. Single nanopore research also inspired the development of nanofabrication techniques to achieve structures with fully controlled electrochemical properties. The time became mature to go a step further, namely, to leave the constraints of single nanopores and prepare nanopore arrays whose function is dictated by stimuli responsive properties of constituent nanopores. Such responsive arrays would mimic ionic circuitry of biological systems that rely on different types of channels. The developing field of nanopore arrays offers opportunities to prepare new types of biological sensors, ionic computing systems, including logic gates and mimics of the brain. These directions of research challenge scientists to develop experimental, theoretical, and modeling tools to design complex ionic systems with emergent functionalities.