Hybrid nanoporous membrane for enhanced filtration and fluid flow

This technology is a tunable nanoporous membrane assembled from layers of polymer films and nanospiky particles to filter, capture, and manipulate ultrasmall biological particles.

Unmet Need: Membrane for efficient nanoscale filtration, fluid flow, and biological manipulation

Current membranes used for filtering ultrasmall particles are mainly composed of polymers. These polymer-based membranes tend to collapse under pressure or clog after particle capturing, thereby trading fluid flow efficiency for filtering resolution. The polymer composition also compromises the effectiveness of nanoparticles often added to these membranes to enhance their biological functions, causing these membranes to perform sub-optimally in certain biomedical applications.

The Technology: Nanoporous membrane with efficient fluid flow compatible with biological applications

This hybrid membrane filters ultrafine particles with layers of polymers and nanospiky particles. While the nanospiky particles form rigid pores to filter nanoscale particles, their structure allows the membrane to support efficient fluid flow even after particle capturing. These nanospiky particles’ spikes can exert mechanical forces on bioparticles, enhancing the biological functionality of the membrane. The structure and composition of the membrane layers and nanospiky particles can be tuned to adapt the membrane for different applications.

A prototype of this technology has been developed.

Applications:

• Face masks
• Antimicrobial dressings or filtration
• Cell culture substrates
• Wound dressing to promote tissue regeneration and prevent infections
• Hemodialysis membranes
• Gauzes or scaffolds with scavenging capabilities for organ transplant
• Vessel grafts
• Implants into tumors
• Scavenging of reactive oxygen species or cell-free nucleic acids
• Biosensing
• Air pollutant filters
• Catalysis
• Extracellular vesicle scavenging
• Cancer diagnostics

Advantages:

• Continuous, efficient fluid flow
• Integrable with biological functions
• Efficient filtering or capturing of nanoscale particles
• Modifiable for adapting to a wide range of applications

Lead Inventor:

Kam Leong, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/2023/183430)

Related Publications:

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU22071

• Licensing Contact: Joan Martinez