Membrane separation systems for water purification are evolving into developing bio-functional materials. The permiselective barrier between the unclean to the clean passage is primarily driven in the size exclusion principle. Despite this, we aim to design an in situ response to biodegrade unwanted molecules, particularly those from bacterial origin, using an active interface before they cross the porous barrier. In pursuit of that vision, we foster path-breaking scientific discovery via working with bio reactive membrane separation sciences to address this challenge and thus provide higher quality water for biotechnological processes. This research seeks to understand the fundamental aspects related to the packing density of a porous polymeric active nano layer. The porous layer results from the self-assembly characteristics of polystyrene-b-poly(4 vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) block copolymer (BCP) to obtain cylindrical domains. The PS-b-P4VP forms supramolecular systems that had been previously studied in the bulk. Additionally, in recent studies, the complexes of this system to produce porous layers has been investigated via phase inversion and as thin films via spin coating techniques. Moreover, we look forward to attaching lipase b from Candida antarctica onto the polymeric matrix prepared from the aforementioned method and add functional activities to the active layer of the membrane. In this work, lipase B was physically adsorbed using the immersion technique. The adsorption was then characterized via atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing incidence infrared spectra, and hydrolytic activity, among others. The adsorption of the lipase was successfully achieved onto the polymeric matrix. The average pore size of the polymeric film was found to be 19.4 ± 2.0 nm. Results also demonstrated a relative activity of the immobilized enzyme up to 67.5%. The prepared films serve as a model to develop further reactive layer membranes for achieving a bio-functional filtration process.

Fabrication of a bio-functional porous nano active layer using the self-assembling characteristic of di-block copolymer PS-P4VP and lipase B from Candida antarctica

2019 Spring National Meeting

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