Bovine serum albumin functional graphene oxide membrane for effective chiral separation

An efficient chiral separation membrane was fabricated from bovine serum albumin (BSA) modified graphene oxide (GO), BSA was linked with GO through EDC/NHS coupling chemistry. This BSA modified membrane can successfully separate Phe racemate, and the excess enantiomer (ee) in osmotic solution was up to 96.1% under the optimal conditions. We found that the addition of BSA not only enlarged the spacing but also formed chiral channels in the membrane to selective transport of L-Phe, enabling the chiral membrane to have both high flux and high selectivity. Further, we confirmed that the microstructure of BSA plays an important role in the chiral separation performance of the membrane. When the helical structure and globular three-dimensional structure of BSA are unfolding due to temperature rise, the chiral separation performance of the membrane will be weakened or even disappear. Addition, molecular docking simulation experiments also proved the reliability of this conclusion. • Chiral separation membrane was prepared by combining Bovine Serum Albumin with GO. • GO-BSA membrane can be directly applied to tangential filtration device. • GO-BSA membrane shows excellent chiral separation efficiency and high flux.