Amine-functionalized PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membrane as affinity membrane with high adsorption capacity for bilirubin

- PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membrane was functionalized by three kinds of amine.
- Bilirubin adsorption capacity of DETA-functionalized membrane reached the highest value.
- The highest capacity was 110 mg/g membrane at bilirubin concentration over 400 mg/L.
- The DETA-functionalized membrane can be affinity membrane for bilirubin removal.

In this study, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE) nanofibrous membrane was activated by sodium hydroxide and cyanuric chloride, and then the activated membranes were functionalized by 1,3-propanediamine, hexamethylenediamine and diethylenetriamine to be affinity membranes for bilirubin removal, respectively. The chemical structures and morphologies of membranes were investigated by SEM, FTIR and XPS. And the adsorption ability of different amine-functionalized nanofibrous membranes for bilirubin was characterized. Furthermore, the effects of temperature, initial concentration of bilirubin, NaCl concentration and BSA concentration on the adsorption capacity for bilirubin of diethylenetriamine-functionalized nanofibrous membrane were studied. Results indicated that the adsorption capacity for bilirubin of diethylenetriamine-functionalized nanofibrous membrane could reach 85 mg/g membrane when the initial bilirubin concentration was 200 mg/L while the adsorption capacity could be increased to 110 mg/g membrane if the initial bilirubin concentration was more than 400 mg/L. The dynamic adsorption of diethylenetriamine-functionalized nanofibrous membrane showed that the ligands of amine groups on the membrane surface could be used as far as possible by recirculating the plasma with certain flow rates. Therefore, the diethylenetriamine-functionalized PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membrane possessed high adsorption capacity for bilirubin and it can be candidate as affinity membrane for bilirubin removal.

229