Title
Biomimetic hybrid membranes: incorporation of transport proteins/peptides into polymer supports
Date Issued
01 January 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Publisher(s)
Royal Society of Chemistry
Abstract
Molecular sensing, water purification and desalination, drug delivery, and DNA sequencing are some striking applications of biomimetic hybrid membranes. These devices take advantage of biomolecules, which have gained excellence in their specificity and efficiency during billions of years, and of artificial materials that load the purified biological molecules and provide technological properties, such as robustness, scalability, and suitable nanofeatures to confine the biomolecules. Recent methodological advances allow more precise control of polymer membranes that support the biomacromolecules, and are expected to improve the design of the next generation of membranes as well as their applicability. In the first section of this review we explain the biological relevance of membranes, membrane proteins, and the classification used for the latter. After this, we critically analyse the different approaches employed for the production of highly selective hybrid membranes, focusing on novel materials made of self-assembled block copolymers and nanostructured polymers. Finally, a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the different methodologies is presented and the main characteristics of biomimetic hybrid membranes are highlighted.
Start page
2722
End page
2736
Volume
15
Issue
13
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería química
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85063522526
PubMed ID
Source
Soft Matter
ISSN of the container
1744683X
Sponsor(s)
The authors acknowledge MINECO/FEDER (MAT2015-69367-R) and the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (2017SGR359). Support for the research of C. A. was received through the prize ‘‘ICREA Academia’’ for excellence in research funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus