I-Corps: Bio-inspired membranes

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力侧重于水处理的新技术。从中央食水处理设施或本地水井抽取的食水一般质素良好，无须进一步处理即可饮用；然而，有些地理区域的水要么是永久的，要么是暂时的不安全。其他需求包括解决不安全水平但消费者不希望的水美学问题。要进入这个市场，产品需要有差异化和成本敏感性。在这个项目中，我们团队将专注于评估竞争格局，确定商业化合作伙伴，并了解工业和家庭应用中的消费者需求。这个I-Corps项目使用了一种新方法来铸造仿生水处理膜。水通道蛋白是一种高选择性的水通道蛋白，由于其在水处理中具有形成高通量和排斥的水通道蛋白基膜的潜力而受到全世界的关注。水通道蛋白的高透水性和选择性使得基于水通道蛋白的仿生膜在水净化方面具有吸引力。在这个项目中，与传统的聚合物膜过滤器相比，在跨孔仿生膜中专门设计了孔隙或通道，以最大限度地提高水的输送效率。与传统膜相比，这些生物启发膜具有更高的污染物排斥效率和显着改善的反冲洗清洁效果。这有可能降低操作成本，增加膜的使用寿命。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project focuses on new technologies for water treatment. Tap water from a central water treatment facility or a local well is generally of high enough quality to drink without further treatment; however, there are geographic areas where the water is either permanently or temporarily unsafe. Other needs include addressing water aesthetics that are not at unsafe levels but are not desired by the consumer. To enter this market a product needs to be differentiated and cost sensitive. In this project the team we will focus on evaluating the competitive landscape, identifying commercialization partners, and understanding the consumer needs in industrial and household application.This I-Corps project uses a new method to cast bio-inspired water treatment membranes. Aquaporin, a highly selective water channel protein, has received worldwide attention because of its potential to form aquaporin-based membranes with high flux and rejection for water treatment. The high water permeability and selectivity of aquaporins makes aquaporin-based biomimetic membranes attractive for water purification. In this project pores or channels specifically engineered in a pore-spanning biomimetic membrane to maximize water transport efficiency, compared to conventional polymer membrane filters. These bio-inspired membranes display higher contaminant rejection efficiency and significantly improved backflush cleaning effectiveness as compared to traditional membranes. This has the potential to decrease operating costs and increase the life of the membrane.