Nanostructured Ultrafiltration Membranes for Biological Applications

描述（由申请人提供）：超滤膜正被生物和健康相关研究机构以及生物制药行业广泛用于大分子（包括蛋白质、核酸和多糖）的快速基于尺寸的纯化和分离。重要的医疗应用包括血液透析（终末期肾衰竭的治疗）和心脏直视手术（血液氧合）。尽管事实上具有不同规格的宽范围的膜是可商购的，但是强烈需要改进膜的选择性。其主要方法是缩小孔径分布，这对现有类型的超滤膜是一个挑战。这个多阶段的小企业创新研究项目旨在开发和商业化新型超滤膜，具有前所未有的锐利和可控的分子量截止和减少污染。需要这样的膜来充分实现超滤在生物和医学感兴趣的大分子的处理中的潜在益处。目标产品-新型膜-将适合作为商业膜支架中最先进膜的直接替代品。拟议的发展将大大提高快速纯化和分离的天然产品在生物化学和医学研究和医疗保健的应用，因此是直接相关的使命的国家研究所一般医学科学。第一阶段的主要目标是通过制造和测试超滤膜并确认其与商业类似物相比的增强性能来证明所提出方法的可行性。为了确保第二阶段产品开发和第三阶段商业化的成功，我们与一家低成本非侵入性葡萄糖传感器开发商建立了早期合作伙伴关系。公共卫生相关性：该项目解决了生物医学研究和医疗保健中的一个重要问题：基于大小的快速纯化和分离大分子，包括蛋白质，核酸和多糖。提出了开发具有前所未有的尖锐和可控的分子量截止和减少污染的新型先进超滤膜的建议。拟议的技术将使一个新的家庭的高性能膜用于生化分析，实验室研究，并可能在血液透析治疗终末期肾功能衰竭和心脏直视手术的血液氧合。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ultrafiltration membranes are being used widely by bio- and health-related research institutions as well as by biopharmaceutical industry for rapid size-based purification and separation of macromolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids and polysaccharides. Important medical applications include hemodialysis (treatment of end-stage renal failure) and open-heart surgery (blood oxygenation). In spite of the fact that a wide range of membranes with different specifications is available commercially, there is a strong need for improvement of membranes selectivity. The main approach to that is to narrow down pore size distribution, which is a challenge for the existing types of ultrafiltration membranes. This multi-phase Small Business Innovation Research project aims to develop and commercialize novel ultrafiltration membranes with unprecedented sharp and controllable molecular-weight cut-off and reduced fouling. Such membranes are needed to fully realize the potential benefits of ultrafiltration in the processing of macromolecules of biological and medical interest. The targeted product - novel membranes - will be suitable as drop-in replacements of the state-of-the- art membranes in commercial membrane holders. The proposed development will drastically improve rapid purification and separation of natural products in biochemical and medical research and in medical care applications and thus is directly relevant to the mission of the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences. The main Phase I objective is to demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach by fabricating and testing ultrafiltration membranes and confirming their enhanced performance versus commercial analogs. To ensure successful Phase II product development and Phase III commercialization, an early partnership has been secured with a developer of low-cost non-invasive glucose sensors. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The project addresses a significant problem in biomedical research and medical care: rapid size-based purification and separation of macromolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids and polysaccharides. The development of novel advanced ultrafiltration membranes with unprecedented sharp and controllable molecular-weight cut-off and reduced fouling is proposed. The proposed technology will enable a novel family of high-performance membranes for use in biochemical analysis, laboratory studies, and, potentially, in hemodialysis for treatment of end-stage renal failure and in open heart surgery for blood oxygenation.