Heterostructured magnetite-titanate nanosheets for prompt charge selective binding and magnetic separation of mixed...

We reported the prompt charge selective binding and magnetic separation of mixed proteins by utilizing heterostructured Fe3O4-Na2Ti3O7 nanosheets. Fe3O4-Na2Ti3O7 nanosheets are found to combine a variety of structure and property merits, such as the increased interlayer galleries, exposed exchange sites, flexible framework, and magnetic manipulability. Probing the dissociation dynamics of Na(+) inside the nanosheets reveals that they possess remarkably enhanced Na(+) dissociation capability and the dissociation rate of Na(+) reaches 7.9×10(-)(6)mol g(-)(1)s(-)(1), much superior to titanate nanotubes. In model protein separation experiments, we utilize mixed proteins containing albumin and hemoglobin to assess Fe3O4-Na2Ti3O7 nanosheets. It is found that, by controlling the pH of the sample at 6, positively charged hemoglobin and negatively charged albumin are immediately separated (∼5s) by the nanosheets and the saturated loading capacity of hemoglobin on the nanosheets reaches 4.7±0.61g g(-)(1). Furthermore, hemoglobin bound to the nanosheets can be readily released after buffer wash and is not damaged, while the nanosheets are recyclable and maintain their high efficiency. The outstanding performance of Fe3O4-Na2Ti3O7 nanosheets in separating mixed proteins is attributed to the ultrafast Na(+) dissociation rate, flexible titanate framework, open geometry, and aqueous-like environment to stabilize proteins. These merits, together with the recyclability and cost effectiveness, should make Fe3O4-Na2Ti3O7 nanosheets ideal candidates for biological recognition, isolation, and purification under technologically useful conditions.