Crystalline three-dimensional membranes enable chromatography-free purification of natural products
- 1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
- 2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
- 3Rice Center for Membrane Excellence (RiCeME), Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
Abstract
Chromatographic purification of natural products is solvent intensive and energy-demanding and remains a major bottleneck in the sustainable production of pharmaceutical compounds. Here, we show that crystalline three-dimensional membranes enable chromatography-free purification of complex natural product mixtures by organic solvent nanofiltration. The rigid, nanomechanically robust channels of the membrane sustain continuous 6-day operation with commercial Taxus crude extracts, achieving ∼96% retention and fourfold enrichment of paclitaxel while allowing valuable precursors to permeate. The membranes exhibit high solvent permeance with negligible swelling, enabling stable molecular sieving in methanol across extended operation. Scalable fabrication via nanosphere-assembled interfacial polymerization produces continuous crystalline membranes over large areas. Life cycle assessment reveals nearly an order-of-magnitude reduction in carbon emissions compared with liquid chromatography. These results demonstrate a membrane platform that can replace chromatographic steps in natural product drug purification, offering a sustainable route for active pharmaceutical ingredient production.
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BibTeX
@article{hu2026crystalline,
title = {{Crystalline three-dimensional membranes enable chromatography-free purification of natural products}},
author = {Xiao-Fan Hu and Han-Qing Yu and Menachem Elimelech and Yan-Fang Guan},
journal = {Science Advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aej0213},
url = {https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aej0213},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Crystalline three-dimensional membranes enable chromatography-free purification of natural products
AU - Xiao-Fan Hu
AU - Han-Qing Yu
AU - Menachem Elimelech
AU - Yan-Fang Guan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Science Advances
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aej0213
UR - https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aej0213
AB - Chromatographic purification of natural products is solvent intensive and energy-demanding and remains a major bottleneck in the sustainable production of pharmaceutical compounds. Here, we show that crystalline three-dimensional membranes enable chromatography-free purification of complex natural product mixtures by organic solvent nanofiltration. The rigid, nanomechanically robust channels of the membrane sustain continuous 6-day operation with commercial Taxus crude extracts, achieving ∼96% retention and fourfold enrichment of paclitaxel while allowing valuable precursors to permeate. The membranes exhibit high solvent permeance with negligible swelling, enabling stable molecular sieving in methanol across extended operation. Scalable fabrication via nanosphere-assembled interfacial polymerization produces continuous crystalline membranes over large areas. Life cycle assessment reveals nearly an order-of-magnitude reduction in carbon emissions compared with liquid chromatography. These results demonstrate a membrane platform that can replace chromatographic steps in natural product drug purification, offering a sustainable route for active pharmaceutical ingredient production.
SN - 2375-2548
ER -