Functionalized Silicon Membranes for Selective Bio-Organisms Capture
Membranes with various pore size, length, morphology and density have been synthesized out of diverse materials for size exclusion-based separation. An example of application is the sterilization of intravenous lines by exclusion of bacteria and viruses using Polyvinylidene Fluoride membranes with 0.1 {micro}m diameter pores. The need for chemically specific filtration has recently been addressed, but for small molecules only. An important problem remaining to be solved is the selective capture of large bio-organisms for decontamination or analysis of air and liquids such as drinking water and body fluids. To achieve this goal, materials with controlled pore diameter, length and surface chemistry are required. In this letter, we present the first functionalized silicon membranes and demonstrate their ability to selectively capture simulated bio-organisms. These extremely versatile and rigid devices open the door on a new class of materials able to recognize the external fingerprints of bio-organisms such as size and outer membrane proteins for specific capture and detection applications.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15006521
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-150806; TRN: US200411%%260
- Resource Relation:
- Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 6; Conference: 2003 Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society, San Francisco, CA (US), 04/21/2003--04/25/2003; Other Information: PBD: 9 Jan 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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