(354g) Beta-Barrel Membrane Protein-Based Biomimetic Nano-Porous Membrane for Protective Fabrics

Protective fabrics are essential in warfare, pandemics, and terrorist attacks, as human skin does not provide complete protection against life-threatening biochemical agents. However, the conventional protective fabrics commonly distributed to first responders are made of impermeable materials leading to oppressive heat stress due to the low water vapor permeability, thus limiting the time they can be deployed. Here, to reduce heat stress while maintaining the protection, we fabricate a biomimetic membrane utilizing 2D nanosheets of the beta-barrel biological channel, outer membrane protein F (OmpF). It shows great potential as a protective fabric with a water vapor transport rate of 250 g h^-1 m^-2 which is higher than that of commercial breathable fabric, Pertex Shield. Moreover, it shows high water resistance and great protective capacity against small molecules (MWCO ~580Da) and biological agents (7 log removal of MS2 bacteriophage).