Patent ID: 8378003

Claim:
A method comprising providing a film of amphiphilic molecules with specific functional groups at a liquid air interface of water; injecting in the water recombinant Aquaporin or a synthetic mimic thereof having a complementary functional group to the specific functional groups of the amphiphilic molecules; injecting in the water a block copolymer solubilized in detergent; removing the detergent and allowing the Aquaporin or synthetic mimic and block copolymer to arrange themselves into a substantially flat Aquaporin-Z/block copolymer configuration on a water side of the film of amphiphilic molecules; detaching the film of amphiphilic molecules from the Aquaporin or synthetic mimic/block copolymer configuration; and irradiating the Aquaporin or synthetic mimic/block copolymer configuration with UV irradiation in solution to crosslink the polymer.