BIOMIMETIC

MEMBRANES
515161030 Merve KO
Contents

Introduction
Biological Membrane Seperation Conceps
Surface Layer Proteins
Lipid Bilayer
Carrier Faciliated Transport
Membrane Protein
Biological Antifouling Structures
Introduction

WHAT IS BOIMIMETICS?
Biomimetics is the term used to describe the substances, equipment,
mechanism and systems by which humans imitate natural systems and
designs.
Introduction

HOW DID IT BEGIN?

American biophysicist and polymath coined the
term in 1950s.
Developed Schmitt trigger by studying the nerves in
squid.
Attempted to engineer a device that replicated the
system of nerve propagation.
Introduction
HOW DID IT BEGIN?
American writer and scientific observer from
Montana.
Wrote the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by
Nature in 1997.
In 1998 she co-founded the Biomimicry Guild which
helps inform, inspire and empower the bridging of
natures wisdom with human knowledge.
Introduction
HOW DID IT BEGIN?
American writer and scientific observer from
Montana.
Wrote the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by
Nature in 1997.
In 1998 she co-founded the Biomimicry Guild which
helps inform, inspire and empower the bridging of
natures wisdom with human knowledge.
 Introduction
WHATS NEW IN LITERATURE?
Merier and coworkers Block Copolymer Biomimetic
Membranes (book)
Shen et al. Lipid and Polymer Based Membranes
(Book chapter)
Aquaporin-based biomimetic membrane reviews (Kim
et al., Kaufman et al.)
Biological Membrane Seperation Conceps

Surface Layer Proteins

Lipid Bilayer
Membrane Proteins
Biological Antifouling Structures
Surface Layer Proteins

Ordered arrays of proteins assembled on the exterior of cell walls of

prokaryotic cells are known as surface layer (S-layer) proteins.
These proteins are bound noncovalently to an underlying lipid
bilayer, or cell surface bound polymer molecules such as
peptidoglycans, teichoic acids and lipoglycans.
Surface Layer Proteins
Surface Layer Proteins

Shape can be oblique, square or hexagonal arrays.

Form porous membranes with sizes ranging from approximatetly 2 to
8 nm and porosities from 30% to 70%.
Provides cell protection, cell adhesion, surface recognition,
molecular sieving, and molecule and ion traps.
Because of their ideal isoporous structure, S-layer membranes have
been proposed for production of ultrafiltration membranes with very
sharp molecular weight cutoffs.
Lipid Bilayers

Provide a dynamic but stable barrier between extracellular and

intracellular compartments of a biologic cell.
Solution- Diffusion model apply as ;

=

Where K is the soluability coeff. Between water and hydrocarbon
section, D is the diffsivity and l is the membrane thickness.
Carrier (Ionophore) Faciltated Transport

Ionophores are macrocyclic peptides that have oxygen atoms or

other compatible ligands to provide a binding pocket for a specific
ion.
When the ion is bound to the ionophore, the ions charge is
delocalized to create a membrane soluble complex, which can diffuse
across a bilayer with a max. turnover rate on the order of thousands
per second.
The flux of ions is linearly proportional to the carrier concentration
and is driven by a concentration gradient and electrophoretic drift of
the ionophore.
Equilibrium across the membrane charactereized by both
concentration and membrane potential according to the Nernst eq.
Carrier (Ionophore) Faciltated Transport
Carrier (Ionophore) Faciltated Transport

Nernst Equation:
where ;
Ecell is the cell potential
(electromotive force) at the
temperature of interest
Eo cell is the standard cell
potential
Qr is the reaction quotient
F is the Faraday constant, the
number of coulombs per mole of
electrons: F =
9.64853399(24)10^4 C mol1
Membrane Proteins

Facilitates active and active transport.

These proteins can be grouped into three types based on their
transport mechanisms: channels, pumps and transporters.
Channels

Transmembrane passive pores.

Their selectivity depends on size, charge, and interaction of the
substrates with the protein structure.
The most common channels are gap junctions, porins, water
channels, and ion channels.
Driving force for solutes is concentration gradient.
The transport rate for channels is the highest of all membrane
proteins as minimal or no conformational change is required for
transport.
Transporters

Slower than channels, transporters require conformational changes

over a large time scale.
Transporters grouped into two categories basedon their transport
mechanisms: uniporters, symporters, and antiporters.
uniporters : transport one solute down its concentration gradient.
symporters: use the energy stored in the electrochemical gradient
for one solute to move another solute upstream in the same
direction.
antipores : use gradient for one solute to move another solute up its
gradient in the opposite direction.
Pumps

Move ions or electrons against the concentration gradient using

chemicals or light as energy sources.
Like transporters, pumps have binding sites for specific ions or
substrates and may undergo a conformational change.
This conformational change is driven by conversion of ATP to ADP, or
by absorbing photons.
The transport rate of pumps in general is the slowest of three types
of membrane proteins when considering ions.
Electrons are moved most efficiently by photosynthetic pumps, which
utilize bound redox cofactors spaced for effcient electron transfer
across the protein.
Human Kidney System

Kidneys are responsible for the regulation of electrolytes, pH, nutrients,

toxins and wastes such as urea in the human body.
The proximal tubule in the nephron plays a large role in this function.
The proximal tube receives the blood filtrate from glomerus through
Bowmans capsule, which acts like an ultrafiltration membrane to retain
large proteins.
The glomerus filtrate in the proximal tubule lumen contains water, salts and
other small solutes.
The proximal tubule is surrounded by tubular cells that are in turn
surrounded by capillaries containing blood, in which important components
can be reabsorbed.
A sophisticated membrane protein transport system in the tubular cells is
responsible for mediating the reabrosbtion of salts, water and nutrients from
the glomerular filtrate while excluding toxins and wastes. (see Figure)
Human Kidney System
Mammalian Eye Lens

The eye lens is an avascular tissue, not supplied by blood vessels in

order to enhance transparency.
The eye lens has evolved multiple packing layers of transparent fiber
cells, from differentiating fibers near the surface t mature fiber cells
in the center.
On the surface, a single layer of epithelial cells covers the lens from
the anterior to the equator and supplies nutrient and water that are
then transported into the fiber cell layers through a network
membrane proteins.
The high amount of crystalline patches of membrane proteins (e.g.,
gap junction channels and aquaporin) in lens fiber cells not only
provides mechanical support and light transmission properties, but
also allows the transport of nutrients and wastes that maintains the
cell homeostasis.
Mammalian Eye Lens
Aquaporins
Aquaporins are water channels and are famly of
memrbane proteins that specifically transport water
across cell membranes.
These proteins have six lipid membrane spanning
domains, forming a narrow pore of around 2,3 A
and lined with hydrophobic amino-acid residues
which results in single-file water transport at very
high rates while excluding all oter solutes including
protons.
Selectivity mechanism of aquaporin include
size exclusion of the narrowest part of the pore that
rejects most hydrated ions larger than the pore size,
electrostatic repulsion by the charged arginine
residue close to the selectivity filter region that
rejects positively charged ions and,
water dipole reorientation (proton exclusion) that
facilitates a single file transport of water molecules.
The fast transport of water in aquaporin channels
can be explained by an analogy to frictionless
flow (slip flow) in smooth narrow hyrdrophobic
channels such as carbon nanotubes insteade of
conventional flows.
Biological Antifouling Strategies

Biological surfaces show excellent antifouling properties towards

common foulants ranging from small proteins to whole cells.
Antifouling mechanisms seen in biology use a combination of the
following approaches:
1) Surface physiochemical interactions: the affinity between foulants
(e.g. Proteins) and surfaces depends on a combination of steri
effects, electrostatics and hydrophobic interactions, which are
specifically tuned at the cell membrane surface to prevent fouling
2) Antifouling chemicals: these are released to prevent adhession by
other cells;
3) Nano and microscale toropgraphy: this influences fluid Dynamics
near the surface and minimizes chances for contact and thus
attachment between biological surfaces and foreign cells.
Biological Antifouling Strategies
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