Utilizing Heterostructured Porous Particles to Improve Traditional Paper Chromatography for Spontaneous Protein Separation.

Chromatography is a classical technique for protein separation. However, the chromatography column is filled with tightly packed separation materials and requires an additional pressurizing pump to propel the flow of fluidic samples, largely restraining their applications. Here, we combine heterostructured porous particles with paper strips, realizing spontaneous separation of similarly sized proteins. The interconnected nanofibrous structure and good hydrophility of paper strips enable the spontaneous flow of the liquid sample, and the heterostructured porous particles provide versatile tools for protein separation via electrostatic interaction. The fabricated paper strips are inexpensive, user-friendly, and disposable and exhibit good separation performance. This work may offer a new avenue for fabricating on-site bioseparation tools and purifying various biomacromolecules.