Ultrafiltration membranes are widely used in the biotechnology, food, and water treatment industries. The major drawback of membranes is fouling and concentration polarization, which ultimately leads to membrane degradation that negatively effects performance. A major source of fouling is non-specific protein binding to the surface of a membrane as well as physical adsorption on the membrane surface. This suggests that new synthetic membranes are needed to replace current technology. High-throughput surface chemistry modification of membranes is an effective method to develop new membranes, especially if the produced surfaces can be screened efficiently.In this work, we utilize a high-throughput (HTP) platform with an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (APP) polymerization system to modify irradiation-sensitive commercial poly(ether sulfone) (PES) membranes. A vast number of model surfaces can be produced using maleimide chemistry and a library of thiols. The maleimide reaction with a library of thiols is conducted at room temperature and neutral pH. Then, a 96 well membrane plate is bombarded with high energy oxygen and helium plasma, which induces radical sites in the membrane. The library of new monomers is then added to separate filter wells of a 96 well membrane plate to react via free radical polymerization. We then measure flux through the membranes before and after exposure to a fouling challenge, consisting of 1 mg/ml BSA solution for 24 hours. This allows us to screen many different chemistries in a single afternoon with reproducibility and efficiency. The selected winners are determined by measuring fouling index, selectivity, resistance, and Hansen solubility parameters. Our previous work has indicated that water interactions at surfaces play a critical role in membrane fouling. Special focus will be given to the role of water interactions in order to gain a fundamental understanding of membrane fouling and concentration polarization.

Development of anti-fouling membranes via combinatorial chemistry and a novel high throughput system

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.