Phosphorylcholine-modified poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) microporous membranes with improved protein-adsorption-resistance property

This paper describes a facile and novel approach for the surface modification of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) microporous membranes by introducing phosphorylcholine (PC) groups. Chemical changes of the membrane surface were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results revealed that PC groups have been successfully introduced to the EVOH membrane surface. The morphologies and mechanical properties of hollow fiber membranes were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), environmental SEM (ESEM), and tensile tester, which indicated that the modification had exerted little effect on the bulk structure of hollow fiber membranes. The surface properties of membranes were characterized by water-contact angle and protein adsorption measurements. It was found that the hydrophilicity was effectively improved and the bovine serum albumin adsorption was significantly suppressed by introducing PC groups onto the EVOH membrane surface. Finally, permeation fluxes of pure water and γ-globulin solution were measured to further evaluate the protein-adsorption-resistance property for the studied membranes. Results showed that PC-modified EVOH membranes had higher pure water fluxes with enhanced flux recovery and reduced flux loss from protein adsorptive fouling.