BIOMIMETIC MEMBRANE FORMED FROM A VESICLE-THREAD CONJUGATE

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for producing man-made devices whichhave the properties and functionsof biological membranes and membrane proteins, and to the structure of suchdevices. Briefly, in one aspect of the invention,natural or genetically engineered proteins are incorporated into a polymericvesicle that is conjugated to a thread to form a vesicle-threadconjugate. The engineered protein is preferably a transmembrane proteinembedded in the wall of the polymeric vesicle.The vesicle-thread conjugate is then formed into a membrane or thin fabrichaving a wide variety of inherent functionality, includingthe ability to selectively transport and/or filter compounds between fluids.By selecting proteins with specific properties, membranescan be fabricated with a defined functionality including molecular scaleaddressability via directed electrostatic, electromagnetic,and chemical forces.