Super-Thin Filter Points to New Possibilities
A porous membrane more than 4,000
times thinner than a human hair may
revolutionize the way doctors and
scientists manipulate objects as small as
a molecule. It opens the possibility for
better dialysis, fuel cells, and neuronstem
cell cultivation.
Research associate Christopher Striemer
discovered the membrane in the lab of
Professor Philippe Fauchet while investigating
how silicone crystallizes when heated.
Assistant Professor James L. McGrath and
graduate student Tom Gaborski realized
the membrane’s tiny holes might be able to
separate objects as small as proteins.
The team also found a way for the
nanofilter to carry a fixed charge, effectively
making the hole “smaller” for certain
molecules—a boon for fuel cell researchers.
“We think we can engineer these
membranes to provide superior discrimination
of proteins, which may make
the process of dialysis faster and more
effective than it is today,” says McGrath.
Johnson & Johnson recently gave a
$100,000 grant to support the effort.
The researchers have founded a
company, SiMPore, to commercialize applications
of the nanomembrane and have
already been approached by semiconductor
giants such as Intel about its use.