Organic-inorganic nanocomposite membranes for molecular separation and bioapplications

Novel porous materials like metal organic frameworks have shown good promise in catalysis, separation, sensing and adsorption. Compared with the conventional polymeric membranes, metal organic framework membranes usually exhibit higher separation efficiency. However, there are still many challenges which need to be addressed, like the interfacial compatibility within the mixed matrix membrane, defective engineering and stability of the framework stability. We will discuss our strategies to solve these problems towards better membranes. On top of the conventional separation membranes, metal organic framework materials can be applied to construct the artificial cellular membranes for bioentities and even living cells. The porous crystal provides exoskeleton to protect the soft biomolecules and their combination can enable a series bioapplications like catalysis, drug delivery and drug release