Membrane Transport Modeling

Dear Colleagues,

Nearly a century ago, Daynes (1920) and Sakai (1922) pioneered the analysis of unsteady-state diffusive transport in single sheets and laminates. Since then, applied scientists have paired conservation equations with Fick’s Law and other phenomenological relations to formulate mathematical models of steady-state and unsteady-state membrane processes, designed experiments to test them, and extracted parameters from the data. Validated models have enabled rational design of a wide array of membrane-based industrial, biomedical and environmentally protective processes and devices.

In recent years, the rapid growth in digital computation capacity and the availability of Molecular Dynamics (MD) software have spurred microscopic transport modeling – the á priori prediction of permeation rates based on rigorous calculation of the specific interactions of various membrane materials with atoms, ions and molecules.

This Special Issue will focus on recent progress in the development and practical application of (a) microscopic membrane transport models; (b) macroscopic membrane transport models which account for the coupling of permeation to, or dependence of permeance and selectivity upon, factors including but not limited to: chemical reactions, heat and viscoelastic effects, electrical and other force fields, external transport resistances and membrane heterogeneity; and (c) mathematical analyses which facilitate inference of model parameters from experimental data.

Daynes, H.A. (1920) “The process of diffusion through a rubber membrane,” Proc. Royal Soc. London A, 97, 285-307.
Sakai, S. (1922) “Linear conduction of heat through a series of connected rods,” Sci. Rep. Tohoku Imperial Univ., Ser. I (Math, Phys., Chem.), 11, 351- 378.

Research articles as well as reviews are invited. If you are uncertain of the suitability of your work to this Special Issue, I encourage you to contact me directly (jerry.meldon@tufts.edu).

Dr. Jerry H. Meldon
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.