Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2016KY255B

Novel methods for the incorporation of AqpZ water channel protein in membranes for water filtration

Institute: Kentucky
Year Established: 2016 Start Date: 2016-03-01 End Date: 2017-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,055

Principal Investigators: Yinan Wei

Project Summary: We expect to obtain suitable Aquaporin Z(AqpZ) constructs with unique chemistry that will be useful for incorporation into biomimetic membranes for water separation applications. Collaboration has been established with colleagues in the department of Chemical Engineering who will work on the integration of AqpZ into supported artificial membranes. To optimize their performance, it is desirable to immobilize AqpZ molecules in one direction with their channels aligned with the direction of water flux. We will attempt to develop approaches to 1) install functional groups on AqpZ for covalent attachment into a polymer matrix; and 2) genetically engineer functional AqpZ constructs to enable directional immobilization.