An Overview of Biofunctional Membranes for Tunable Separations, Metal-Ion Capture, and Enzyme Catalysis Based on Research from the Laboratories of Allan Butterfield and Dibakar Bhattacharyya

Abstract

At the 2007 North American Membrane Sciences (NAMS) National Meeting in Orlando, a session largely devoted to functionalized membranes was held in honor of Professor Dibakar Bhattacharyya of the University of Kentucky Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering and the Center of Membrane Sciences. This review will highlight some of the newest developments in biofunctional membranes conducted collaboratively by the Butterfield and Bhattacharyya laboratories. Specific details or raw data can be accessed in the original papers; this review will highlight the functionalization processes, major results, and applications. Emphasis is placed on: preparation of polypeptide-functionalized polycarbonate, track-etched membranes that are used in tunable separations; polythiol-functionalized alumina membranes that are used for metal-ion capture; and layer-by-layer assembled biofunctional membranes that are used for enzyme catalysis.

Keywords:

• biofunctional membranes
• layer-by-layer assembly
• metal-ion capture
• tunable membranes

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This invited review arose from the author's presentation at the 2007 North American Membrane Society (NAMS) National Meeting in Orlando, Florida in which Professor Dibakar Bhattacharyya was honored by NAMS for his long and distinguished career in membrane research and for producing many rising stars in the next generation of excellence in membrane research. Many years ago now, D.B. Bhattacharyya and I formed the University of Kentucky Center of Membrane Sciences. We made a strategic decision at that time (1986) to pursue research on all aspects of membrane science, but especially focus on biofunctional membranes. The University of Kentucky Center of Membrane Sciences remains one of the leading academic centers in this area of research, due in no small part to the contributions of Professor Bhattacharyya. Consequently, it is a high honor and distinct pleasure for me to dedicate this review paper for this special issue of Separation Science and Technology on Functionalized Membranes as a personal tribute to D.B. Bhattacharyya, who I regard as an extraordinarily gifted membrane scientist and a dear friend.

The recent studies outlined in this review article were the result of the dissertation research of one of the author's Ph.D. students, Vasile Smuleac. I greatly thank him for his excellent research. Professor Bhattacharyya served as Co-Preceptor for Dr. Smuleac, who is one of more than 5 such students who received advanced degrees in either Chemistry (with Butterfield the Preceptor and Bhattacharyya the Co-Preceptor) or Chemical and Materials Engineering (with Bhattacharyya the Preceptor and Butterfield the Co-Preceptor). This cross-college interaction and graduate student education within the University of Kentucky illustrates in a different way the collegial and collaborative relationship enjoyed by Professors Bhattacharyya and Butterfield.

Notes

^a Percent respective diameter of the Bare Membrane.