Professor John Cuppoletti, University of Cincinnati, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology is leading a research team developing membranes for fuel cells, filtration, drug delivery and smart fabrics for the U.S. Army.
The objective of this U.S. Army Research Office Multi-disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) is to produce synthetic flexible membranes containing biological transport proteins that can utilize energy for the selective uptake, concentration and release of ions and molecules in an organized manner. The effort includes production of both macroscopic membranes and nanostructures containing transport proteins with vectorial transport function. The investigation is noted in 2009 ARO in Review, a publication noting on-going U.S. Army materials and other research.
The University of Cincinnati research combines both experimental and theoretical studies utilizing a very promising membrane transport system; the fundamental concepts developed from this effort are expected to provide significant insight into many other transport systems. The MURI program may enable novel materials for: fuel cell membranes, reverse osmosis and active filter membranes, drug delivery systems, moisture-removing fabrics, and chemical and biological defense. The research program includes:
• Reconstitution of the gastric HCl secretory apparatus into synthetic flexible membranes in functional form;
• Investigation of the structural determinants of regulatory regions in native and specifically modified or engineered proteins;
• Application of control mechanisms such as pH, ionic conditions, membrane voltage, and intracellular second messengers;
• Identification and engineering, using guidance from computational modeling, of transport systems with the capability to transport other substances; and
• Design of macroscopic and nanoscopic planar and three-dimensional membrane support structures.
