Polyacrylonitrile-based zwitterionic ultrafiltration membrane with improved anti-protein-fouling capacity

The adhesion of proteins to the surface and pores of ultrafiltration membrane is one of the most important causes of membrane fouling, consequently lead to deterioration of membrane performance. In the present study, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based zwitterionic ultrafiltration membrane was developed to improve its anti-protein-fouling capacity. 3-Dimethylaminopropylamine was first grafted onto the hydrolyzed PAN membrane by activation. Subsequently, carboxylic zwitterions were produced on the membrane surface by quaternization with 3-bromopropionic acid. The zwitterionic membranes were rigorously characterized in terms of chemical composition, morphology, and surface properties indicating that the zwitterion could successfully be bonded onto the PAN membrane without having significant effects on the membrane morphology. The anti-protein-fouling properties of the membrane were tested using static protein adsorption and dynamic-filtration experiments. The experimental results show that, although the hydrophilicity of the zwitterionic membrane decreased, the flux recovery rate of the zwitterion-grafted membrane was much higher than that of the hydrolyzed PAN membrane. Therefore, the formation of zwitterionic hydration layer may effectively prevent the adsorption interaction between protein and membrane surface, which is beneficial for the improvement of the anti-protein-fouling capacity.