Rethinking how membranes are made.
Bringing new products and processes to the industrial landscape.
Our Challenge
A membrane protein requires a structure that mimics a cell membrane. In nature, these structures are built up from a lipid bilayer. To keep the protein stable, we need to be able to fuse it into a similar bilayer. However, lipid bilayers do not function in the conditions typically seen by industrial membrane products. Instead of lipid bilayers, block-copolymers can serve as stable synthetic cell membranes. Proteo-polymersomes are artificial cells that are spherical, water-filled nanostructures with proteins embedded.
Our Approach
We aren’t envisioning small artificial cells being the optimal solution for an industrial product. We believe it’s going to require a flat nanostructure – like a blanket made from an artificial cell membrane – where the membrane proteins can be embedded. To be successful in bringing solutions to the industry, we need to use this same method of covering a conventional membrane.
Our Adaptability
We have all the building blocks for almost any separation challenge. We can choose a specific membrane protein that defines the selectivity for a given application. Likely, this protein can be found in nature. If not, we have the potential to design it. Once we have that, we then need to embed this protein into our nanostructures and cover it with a support membrane.
The ability to arrive at this highly “selective blanket” is due to the versatility of our technology, along with three important steps in the process: substrate production, nanoparticle production, and membrane coating.
Substrate Production
Conventional polymeric membranes used as substrates for polyamide coating processes do not deliver the characteristics needed for coating with a protein layer. The substrate material needs to be compatible with the protein layer. The pore size needs to be of similar size as the protein nanostructure. Plus, the membrane thickness should be as thin as possible but as robust as needed for the application.
Critical to a successful end product is a high-performance substrate that is designed and manufactured to tolerances that are beyond conventional technology and can be delivered at a competitive cost. We have formulated membranes and developed manufacturing processes that provide a consistent membrane surface on which we can coat our protein nanostructures.
Nanoparticle Production
Manufacturing proteins is a well understood process. It’s used in everything from brewing beer and wine-making to delivering high-quality nutrition and healthcare. We’ve developed the capacity to produce and purify proteins in large bioreactors with high yield. Our challenge lies in encapsulating the proteins in nanoparticles that can deliver a robust component which provides functionality when incorporated into an industrial product.
Proteins perform wonderfully in their native environments, but industrial applications push them to their limits. They operate at high temperatures, pressures, and extreme pH conditions. We need to ensure the proteins can be used in a product that delivers a meaningful performance advantage over conventional technology and allows them to perform in industrial conditions.
Addressing this gap was one of the biggest challenges we faced. We’ve solved it through patent protected designs and processes for protein formulation.
Membrane Coating
Marrying the protein nanoparticles with the substrate provides our final coated membrane. Conventional coating processes and chemistries don’t permit proteins to perform optimally. We’re developing in-house coating processes to enable the protein channels to deliver the results they’re naturally capable of – high efficiency, high selectivity, and low energy transport of targeted molecules.