Researchers develop self-assembling artificial membrane

A self-assembling artificial membrane developed by Manish Kumar, an Indian-American researcher could potentially help in the process of water purification, drug delivery, gas separation, and DNA recognition by shipping billion water molecules per channel per second.

The synthetic membrane, made up of phospholipids – fat molecules – and protein-appended molecules that form water channels that ship water at the rate of natural membranes. It self-accumulates into two-dimensional structures with parallel channels.

Pennsylvania State University, assistant professor of chemical engineering, Kumar said, ''Nature does things very efficiently, and transport proteins are incredible machine present in natural membranes. They have functions that are hard to replicate in synthetic systems,'' PTI reported.

Researchers also developed a second-generation synthetic water channel that improved on earlier attempts to mimic aquaporins  – natural water channel proteins – by being more steady and easier to manufacture.

Kumar further added, ''The most obvious use of these channels is to make highly proficient water purification membranes.''

Kumar said, ''We were stunned to see transport rates approaching the ''Holy Grail'' number of a billion water molecules per channel per second.''

Researchers also noted that the artificial channels tended to associate with each other in a membrane to form two-dimensional (2D) arrays with a very high pore density.

They believe the membranes would perform much better than the first-generation artificial water channels reported to date.

Manish and co-authors have reported their findings in a current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

According to Kumar the most obvious application of the channels would be to make highly efficient water purification membranes.