Learn how to collaborate with Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence to transform bioprocesses through the optimisation of membranes.
Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME) is newly founded thanks to a £10M award from Research England. Our aim is to become a one stop shop for all membrane related science. We are an interdisciplinary institute working across the traditional boundaries of chemistry, physics and biological sciences. We wish to pursue impactful research that solves real world challenges.
Membranes are involved in biotechnology from the cells that produce compounds of interest to downstream processing. We will present some case studies to showcase the work we do. Join us to hear about how AIME can help you overcomes these challenges and how you can work with us.
More information about AIME
AIME is a globally unique, cross-disciplinary institute to develop novel membranes for use in applications as varied as drug discovery and water purification. The team behind AIME believes that the full potential of membranes will only be realised by a research team spanning biology, physics and chemistry that can investigate membranes holistically. No other institute has the platform, potential or promise for major breakthroughs in this area. The vision is for AIME to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for interdisciplinary, translational membrane research through its facilities access and expertise, ideally located in the heart of the UK.
What is a Membrane?
A membrane is a barrier, often a thin film, which allows through some substances but not others. Membranes can be biological, like those found in cells, or synthetic, such as those used in laboratory chemical processes or even the waterproof, yet breathable clothes that we wear. Industrial membranes, for example, are used to filter yeast particles from beer, while biological membranes in plants help them take in nutrients from soil. The world’s top ten selling human medicines, which have global annual sales exceeding US$100bn, all target proteins in biological cell membranes and synthetic polymer membranes are used in the US$100bn/year water purification industry. Industries relating to and using membranes are big business.
AIME Research
Current AIME research falls under 4 main themes:
· Membrane proteins and their interactions with lipids.
· Sustainable polymers for studying and applying membrane proteins.
· Lipidic nanoparticles and artificial structures.
· Lipidomic analysis.
Within these, we have several well-funded flagship projects with clear pathways to impact:
· Bioinspired filtration membranes embedding functional transport proteins in plastic membranes.
· Novel therapeutics to target membrane proteins or produce novel engineered nanoparticles.
· Technologies for membrane science including production of advanced designer polymers and microbial strains for membrane protein production.