Trade.Information

Topic Name: A Biological Silicon Membrane

Category: Biodesign

Research persons: Jean-Pierre Leburton, Maria Gracheva and Julien Vidal

Location: 405 N. Mathews Ave,Urbana, IL 61801, United States

Details

The world of alive for a long time exploits semi permeable membranes for its operations. The channels and the ionic pumps of the lipid membranes of the neurons are one of the most known examples. In a general way, there are all kinds of operations of molecular, important filtering for the research and the industry, which would profit from the development of controllable artificial membranes imitating those of the biological systems. Jean-Pierre Leburton and his colleagues of University of Illinois have just published the results of the modeling of such a system based on the use of the semiconductors.
The idea is to imitate the operation of the nervous cells using two differently doped and thick layers of silicon of 12 nanometers each one. One bores then nonporous, in order to constitute the similar base of the channels and pumps ionic, and one subjects the whole to a potential difference electrostatic. The two layers take care then, one positively and the other negatively just like in the case of the polarization of the cellular membranes.
The nonporous themselves have a form of sand glass of a diameter of 1 nanometer in the medium and 6 nanometers for the parts leading to the two sides of the artificial membrane. In an interesting way, the size of these openings is flexible using the potential difference.
In nature, the semi permeable membranes make it possible to control flow and the types of ions which penetrate in a cell and thus the exchanges between the mediums will intra and extra cellular. In the case of the nervous cells for example, the ions sodium and potassium return and leave using the pumps and of the ionic channels and this is central for the propagation of the nerve impulse. Without those, the double-layered lipid one constituting the membranes would not let pass the ions Na+ and K+.
According to Jean-Pierre Leburton, Maria Gracheva and Julien Vidal, the type of artificial membrane that they propose is more adaptive than the biological membranes, as well the performances as L `extended from the types of filterable molecules would be more important.
One can even imagine sequencer the ADN more quickly and at lower cost by using this process, and not only to filter proteins or to detect specific molecules. One can also quote very varied applications, like de-salting sea water or filtering the rejections CO2 to fight against the effect of greenhouse.
Exchanging pumps of ions, as the Na/K pump, exchange ions of various species and generate electrochemical gradients for various types of ions
 

About The Researchers:

Jean-Pierre Leburton
Full Time Faculty
Computational Electronics
3251 Beckman Institute
University of Illinois
405 N. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-6813
jleburto@uiuc.edu

Maria Gracheva
Post Doctoral
Computational Electronics
3253 Beckman Institute
University of Illinois
405 N. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 244-3710
gracheva@uiuc.edu
 

and Julien Vidal
In The Images-
1.Jean-Pierre Leburton
2.Several types of ionic channels depending on the voltage exist according to their capacity of ionic selection. The direction of the current which crosses each type of ionic channels depends on the direction of the electrochemical gradient of each selected ion. The principal types of ionic channels dependent on the voltage are with sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca++) (Credit: Erik Harvey-Girard).
3.Exchanging pumps of ions, as the Na/K pump, exchange ions of various species and generate electrochemical gradients for various types of ions (Credit: Erik Harvey-Girard).