TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid Size-Based Protein Discrimination inside Hybrid Isoporous Membranes
AU - Shevate, Rahul
AU - Kumar, Mahendra
AU - Cheng, Hong
AU - Hong, Pei Ying
AU - Behzad, Ali Reza
AU - Anjum, Dalaver
AU - Peinemann, Klaus Viktor
N1 - Funding Information:
*E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID Pei-Ying Hong: 0000-0002-4474-6600 Klaus-Viktor Peinemann: 0000-0003-0309-9598 Funding The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) with grant number BAS/1/1332-01-01. Notes The authors declare no competing financial interest.
PY - 2019/2/27
Y1 - 2019/2/27
N2 - Owing to their unique morphology, isoporous membranes derived from block copolymers (BCPs) have rapidly advanced the process of macromolecular separation. In such separations, fouling is the most daunting challenge, affecting both the permeability and selectivity of high-performance isoporous membranes. To overcome this, we increase the hydrophilicity of nanostructured BCP isoporous membranes by incorporating hydrophilic polymer-grafted graphene oxide nanosheets into them. Due to the synergy of these two highly functional components, the hybrid isoporous membranes show pH-responsive and alcohol-gating behaviors, along with improved bactericidal capabilities. Leveraging the high permeability and selectivity behavior of BCP isoporous membranes together with the antifouling capabilities imparted by the polymer-grafted graphene oxide nanosheets, we achieved the highest separation factor (33) ever obtained during the ultrafiltration of the common blood proteins bovine serum albumin and immunoglobulin. This was accompanied by a 60% enhanced flux compared to that of the pristine BCP membranes during this challenging size-based separation of a protein mixture. We surmise that such fouling-resistant hybrid isoporous membranes with rationally functionalized filler materials can be used to replace existing membranes for specific energy-efficient bioseparation applications with improved performance.
AB - Owing to their unique morphology, isoporous membranes derived from block copolymers (BCPs) have rapidly advanced the process of macromolecular separation. In such separations, fouling is the most daunting challenge, affecting both the permeability and selectivity of high-performance isoporous membranes. To overcome this, we increase the hydrophilicity of nanostructured BCP isoporous membranes by incorporating hydrophilic polymer-grafted graphene oxide nanosheets into them. Due to the synergy of these two highly functional components, the hybrid isoporous membranes show pH-responsive and alcohol-gating behaviors, along with improved bactericidal capabilities. Leveraging the high permeability and selectivity behavior of BCP isoporous membranes together with the antifouling capabilities imparted by the polymer-grafted graphene oxide nanosheets, we achieved the highest separation factor (33) ever obtained during the ultrafiltration of the common blood proteins bovine serum albumin and immunoglobulin. This was accompanied by a 60% enhanced flux compared to that of the pristine BCP membranes during this challenging size-based separation of a protein mixture. We surmise that such fouling-resistant hybrid isoporous membranes with rationally functionalized filler materials can be used to replace existing membranes for specific energy-efficient bioseparation applications with improved performance.
KW - Block copolymer
KW - fouling suppression
KW - functionalized graphene oxide nanosheets
KW - hybrid isoporous membrane
KW - hydrophilicity
KW - pH responsive
KW - self-assembly
KW - size-selective protein separation
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85061923121
U2 - 10.1021/acsami.8b20802
DO - 10.1021/acsami.8b20802
M3 - Article
C2 - 30699293
AN - SCOPUS:85061923121
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 11
SP - 8507
EP - 8516
JO - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
IS - 8
ER -