Particle transport across a channel via an oscillating potential

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this record.Membrane protein transporters alternate their substrate-binding sites between the extracellular and cytosolic side of the membrane according to the alternating access mechanism. Inspired by this intriguing mechanism devised by nature, we study particle transport through a channel coupled with an energy well that oscillates its position between the two entrances of the channel. We optimize particle transport across the channel by adjusting the oscillation frequency. At the optimal oscillation frequency, the translocation rate through the channel is a hundred times higher with respect to free diffusion across the channel. Our findings reveal the effect of time dependent potentials on particle transport across a channel and will be relevant for membrane transport and microfluidics application.This work was supported by a Royal Society Research Grant (No. RG140203), a Wellcome Trust Strategic Seed Corn Fund, and a Start-up Grant from the University of Exeter awarded to S.P. U.F.K. was funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant (Designerpores No. 647144). Y.T. was supported by scholarship from Cavendish-NUDT, Lundgren and Pannett Fund, Churchill College. J.G. acknowledges the support of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under ETN Grant No. 674979-NANOTRANS