Speaker
Dr
Christian Sproncken
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Description
The membranes of living cells form excellent barriers, separating the cell contents from the outside environment, while only several nanometers thick and spanning large areas. Inspired by these biological membranes, we present the formation and characterization of amphiphilic block copolymer membranes. We demonstrate that these polymers can form membranes of less than 20 nm in thickness over areas approaching 1 cm2 between two non-mixing aqueous phases, potentially making them the largest of their kind. Moreover, the membranes allow incorporation of selective ion carriers or channels, thus displaying diode behavior when using different ions in the two aqueous phases.
Authors
Dr
Christian Sproncken
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Dr
Alessandro Ianiro
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Mr
Justin Monney
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Dr
Peng Liu
(California Institute of Technology & Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Prof.
Nico Bruns
(Technical University of Darmstadt & Adolphe Merkle Institute)
Prof.
Christoph Weder
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Prof.
Ullrich Steiner
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)
Prof.
Michael Mayer
(Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg)