The cells in our body are all surrounded by membranes that separate the interior of the cell from its environment - these are not hermetically sealed however.
Special proteins take on the important task of periodically letting ions pass through.
These ion channels play a crucial role in many physiological processes and now analytical chemists have discovered them as well - as potential detectors for medical diagnosis or possibly in the environmental sphere. Artificial pores that are tailored to specific tasks are a prerequisite for this. Six single 'rods' each consisting of eight linked benzene rings make up the framework of the pore. Each rod has short peptide strands sticking out alternately to the left and right. When the six molecules aggregate, they interlace like the fingers on two hands being brought together.