Research Initiation: Thin-Gel Composite Membranes for the Separation of Biological Molecules

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The goal of the research is to develop thin gel composite membranes for application in gel chromatography for bioseparations. The proposed composite membranes will be formed by interfacially polymerizing onto thin porous supports. Use of such thin gel composite membranes could result in large-scale bioseparations. The productivity, selectivity, and effective thickness of the resulting membranes will be related to the polymerization conditions. Water- soluble polymers that are representative of biomolecular size will be tagged with dye molecules and used as the permeating solutes. Membrane flux and selectivity will be determined with a flow-through diffusion cell which uses a fiber optic probe colorimeter to instantaneously measure the downstream concentration. This project will stimulate further research in the area of gel-based membrane separations. Processes based on the thin-gel composite membrane potentially may replace additional steps in the purification of proteins and other biological molecules.