Sterlitech Customer Highlight: Aquaporin

Aquaporin A/S of Denmark, one of Sterlitech Corporation’s customers, has recently tested their Aquaporin Inside™ technology at the NASA Ames facility at Palo Alto, CA. Aquaporin and their new technology take their names from a type of protein found in the cell membranes of every living thing on the planet: aquaporins. Aquaporin (the company) hopes to use the selectivity of aquaporins (the protein) to create cost-effective and ecologically sustainable new membrane filters to revolutionize water purification and desalination.

[/caption] The secret to the promise of Aquaporin Inside™ technology is the selectivity of the aquaporins themselves. Embedded throughout any cell membrane, aquaporins are a gateway through which water can pass into and out of a cell but ions and solutes cannot. Aquaporins will even exclude naturally occurring hydronium and hydroxide ions in water.  If successful, Aquaporin’s new technology could set new standards in water purity. As our planet’s population booms, the demand for safe, clean water will boom along with it. Aquaporin and their Aquaporin Inside™ technology has the potential to go a long way towards meeting that demand. Contributing Sources: “Membrane Product News.” Membrane Quarterly. January 2012: pg. 9 Jensen, Peter Holme, and Danielle Keller. "Membrane for Filtering of Water." US Patent & Trademark Office. Web. 18 July 2012. "A Miracle that can Change the World." Aquaporin - Aquaporins. Web. 18 July 2012.