Flux decline during nanofiltration of naturally-occurring dissolved organic matter: effects of osmotic pressure,membrane permeability,and cake formation

Nanofiltration of naturally-occurring dissolved organic matter (NOM) by an aromatic polyamide membrane was measured in a crossflow bench-scale test cell and modeled using a semi-empirical osmotic pressure/cake formation model. Our objective was to examine flux decline due to NOM fouling while explicitly accounting for flux decline due to osmotic effects and changes in membrane permeability. This approach allowed quantification of the effect of ionic composition on specific NOM cake resistance, and yielded insight into flux decline due to enhanced NaCl rejection by the NOM deposit. In the absence of NOM, increasing NaCl concentration reduced salt rejection and decreased membrane permeability. Flux decline was modeled by accounting for changes in osmotic pressure with time, and by employing an effective permeability. The addition of calcium significantly reduced rejection of sodium and feed conductivity, and thus mitigated flux decline. Increasing pH from 4 (near membrane pI) to 10 increased the effective permeability but also increased NaCl rejection, which resulted in greater flux decline. The presence of NOM caused greater flux decline resulting from a combination of NOM cake resistance and increased rejection of NaCl by negatively charged NOM functional groups. Increasing NaCl concentration had little effect on the mass of NOM deposited, but significantly increased the specific resistance of the NOM cake. The effect of ionic strength on specific resistance correlated with a reduction in NOM size, estimated by separate UF permeation experiments and size exclusion chromatography analysis of UF permeate. Therefore, increased specific cake resistance is consistent with a more compact, less porous cake. Flux decline by NOM solutions showed a maximum at pH 7, where salt rejection was also a maximum. Binding of calcium reduced the ability of NOM to enhance NaCl rejection, and likely increased NOM cake resistance. Flux decline caused by NOM fouling in the presence of calcium was only significantly different than that caused by NOM in a solution of NaCl at the same ionic strength when the calcium concentration corresponded to saturation of NOM binding sites.     

Separation of aromatic substances from aqueous solutions using a reverse osmosis technique with thin,dense cellulose acetate membranes

Investigations were made of the water flux rate and rejection characteristics of aromatic substances in aqueous solutions using a thin, dense cellulose acetate membrane in reverse osmosis experiments. The aromatic substances used were phenol, aniline, hydroquinone and p-chlorophenol. The permeate became more enriched in aromatic compounds as compared to the feed solution as the water content of the membrane increased. By considering both the effects of pressure on the chemical potential of a component and the contribution of viscous flow to the overall transport of that component in the hydrated membrane, a theoretical relationship was developed to predict the negative solute rejection of the membrane. Based on this proposed theory, the permeability coefficients of water and organic solute were estimated from experimental solute rejection data, including negative values. The permeability coefficients of components were in good agreement with previously established correlations in measurements of partition and diffusion coefficients.     

Reverse osmosis membrane treatment of acidic etchant wastewater: Effect of neutralization and polyelectrolyte coating on nitrate removal

The removal of nitrate from mixed acid etchant (MAE) wastewater was investigated by neutralization, followed by reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration. The coating of a RO membrane was conducted using polyacrylic acid (PAA) in order to enhance the removal of nitrate from the MAE wastewater. The addition of KOH, for the neutralization of the MAE wastewater, was most effective in terms of solid–liquid separation. Double RO filtrations, with crossflow and stirred-flow units, were examined in terms of nitrate rejection and membrane permeability. The Donnan exclusion, due to change in the solution pH, played an important role in nitrate rejection. As a result, RO filtration, at a moderate acidic pH level (e.g., pH 4), provided greater nitrate rejection than that at neutral or alkaline pH levels. The Donnan effect was associated with acetic acid present in MAE wastewater, since it could deprotonate to acetate with a negative charge. Improvement in nitrate rejection occurred with the PAA coating of the original RO membrane. This is because of the enhanced electrostatic repulsion of the nitrate by the carboxyl groups on the coated membrane surface, although the flux declined with the PAA coatings. The effect of charge repulsion was more obvious in the second pass of RO filtration where the ionic strength was relatively low. The increase in nitrate rejection leveled off with a PAA dosage of 0.262 mg/cm² of the membrane, so further coating beyond this level should be prevented.     

Synthesis and modeling of composite poly (styrene-co-acrylonitrile) membrane for the separation of chromic acid

In this work, we have prepared a composite styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) membrane on a ceramic clay plate by coating a prepolymer solution prepared using a dual initiator system. This membrane is chemically modified by gas phase nitration followed by amination and quaternization to make it charged and has been characterized by FTIR, SEM, contact angle measurements, AFM, water content, water permeability measurements and molecular weight cut-off experiments. The membrane has been further characterized using chromic acid rejection (real and observed) at different pressures, feed concentrations and pH. The modified membrane is found to possess a real rejection of above 90% with high water flux at low pressure drop.     

Characterisation of historical organic dyestuffs by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

This review discusses the characterisation of natural organic dyestuffs of historical interest by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The structures of the most important natural organic dyestuffs traditionally used are presented and discussed from the perspective of their analytical chemical determination. The practical aspects of the determination of this inhomogeneous range of compounds with different structures, such as anthraquinones, flavonoids, indigoids or tannins, are discussed with their implications for sample preparation, liquid chromatographic separation and mass spectrometric detection. The particular focus of this review is the discussion of the mass spectral fragmentation patterns of the different classes of natural organic dyestuffs, which in the ideal case allow the identification of the dyestuff actually used, and thereby provide a key to the better characterisation and understanding of historical objects dyed with natural organic dyestuffs. Figure LC-MS allows characterisation of natural dyestuff constituents: the MS spectrum of alizarin is superimposed over a photo of a textile coloured using this red dye     

Characterisation of zirconium/poly(acrylic acid) low pressure dynamically formed membranes by use of the extended Nernst-Planck equation

The rejection of a single electrolyte solution, by a hydrous zirconium oxide/poly(acrylic acid) (Zr/PAA) dual layer dynamically formed membrane (DFM), has been investigated. A flat sheet titania-coated sintered stainless steel (IMAS UK) was used as a substrate for DFM formation. Flux and rejection were recorded for a series of experiments at different transmembrane pressures, feed solution cross-flow rates and salt concentration. Experimental data was interpreted using a model based on the extended Nernst-Planck equation. This interpretation allows characterisation of the membrane in terms of two parameters, the effective membrane charge density and a structural parameter which combines porosity and membrane thickness. Good correlation between experimental data and theory has been obtained. Calculation of the effective membrane charge density and the structural parameter at pH 6.7 and 9.0 for a range of salt concentrations provides conclusive evidence that membrane pore size decreases with increasing salt concentration and that the degree of ionisation of the PAA contained within the membrane increases with increasing pH and salt concentration.     

Flux enhancement during Dean vortex tubular membrane nanofiltration: 13. Effects of concentration and solute type

Controlled centrifugal instabilities (called Dean vortices) resulting from sufficient flow in composite polyamide–poly(ether sulfone) helical membrane tubes have been used to reduce concentration polarization during nanofiltration. These vortices enhance back-migration through convective flow away from the membrane–solution interface and increased shear at the membrane–solution interface and allow for increased membrane permeation rates. As a result, solute concentrations at the membrane–solution interface and resulting osmotic-driven back flow are reduced.The performance of two sets of modules (designated Set II and Set III), each set containing a prototype vortex generating helical tubular nanofiltration (NF) element and a conventional linear element was evaluated. Nanofiltration of aqueous solutions of inorganic salts (including KCl, K₂SO₄ and K₃PO₄) and amino acids of similar molecular weight (including glutamic acid, glutamine and lysine) was performed with Set II. These experiments, designed to evaluate the effects of solute type, were conducted at the same energy consumption and transmembrane pressures. Both membrane swelling and charge effects were evident as a function of varying the pH during membrane filtration of both inorganic salts and amino acids. Both flux and rejection were higher for the helical module than the linear module during amino acid nanofiltration.A new modified phenomenological model was shown to be effective for predictive purposes for cases of responsive concentration polarization. Its applicability is validated by performing nanofiltration of aqueous MgSO₄ solutions with a new set of modules designated as Set III. Modules of Set III contained dissimilar helical and linear elements. The model was then tested against the results obtained previously.     

Interlaboratory studies of highly permeable thin‐film composite polyamide nanofiltration membrane

The aim of this paper is to survey interlaboratory studies of performance data to produce highly permeable thin‐film composite (TFC) polyamide nanofiltration (NF) membrane in the form of flat sheet at bench scale. TFC polyamide NF membranes were fabricated via interfacial polymerization of 1,3‐phenylenediamine and trimesoyl chloride on porous polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. The NF membranes were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cross‐flow filtration. The AFM and SEM analyses indicated that a rough and dense film was formed on the PES support membrane. The permeability and NaCl rejection of the NF membrane prepared at the presence of camphor sulfonic acid as pH regulator and triethylamine as accelerator in the aqueous solution were 21 l m^?2 h^?1 and 70%, respectively. In order to estimate the repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations, the development of an interlaboratory study was conducted by measurements of permeation flux and salt rejection of the synthesized membranes. Repeatability standard deviation of the permeation flux data for the membrane based on optimum formulation was 1.99, and reproducibility standard deviation was 3.55. Also based on this trend, repeatability standard deviation of the salt rejection data was 1.57, and reproducibility standard deviation was 4.11. The American Society for Testing and Materials standard E691‐05 was used for data validation of the repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations and consistency statistics. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the polyacyl chloride structure on the reverse osmosis performance,surface properties and chlorine stability of the thin-film composite polyamide membranes

This paper aims to study the structure–property relationship and make several reasonable suggestions for tailoring special separation performance and surface properties of thin-film composite polyamide membranes. In the experiments, composite membranes of different thin films with small structural differences were prepared through interfacial polymerization of trimesoyl chloride (TMC), 5-isocyanato-isophthaloyl chloride (ICIC), and 5-chloroformyloxy-isophthaloyl chloride (CFIC) with m-phenylenediamine (MPD) separately, after which their reverse osmosis performances were evaluated by permeation experiment with salt aqueous solution, and film properties were characterized by AFM, SEM, XPS, ATR-IR, contact angle and streaming potential measurements. Chlorine stability was also studied through the evaluation of membrane performance before and after hypochlorite exposure. The results show that the polyacyl chloride structure strongly influences the reverse osmosis performance, surface properties and chlorine stability of the composite membranes; that the introduction of isocyanato group into polyacyl chloride improves the hydrophilicity, water permeability and surface smoothness of the thin-film composite membrane, and increases the absolute value of zeta potential at both low and high pH, but reduces the chlorine stability; and that the introduction of chloroformyloxy group increases the salt rejection rate and the surface roughness of the composite membrane, but lowers the water permeability.     

Preparation,structure characteristics and separation properties of thin-film composite polyamide-urethane seawater reverse osmosis membrane

A novel thin-film composite (TFC) seawater reverse osmosis membrane was developed by the interfacial polymerization of 5-chloroformyloxyisophthaloyl chloride (CFIC) and metaphenylenediamine (MPD) on the polysulphone supporting membrane. The performance of the TFC membrane was optimized by studying the preparation parameters, which included the reaction time, pH of the aqueous-MPD solution, monomer CFIC concentration, additive isopropyl alcohol content in aqueous solution, curing temperature and time. The reverse osmosis performance of the resulting membrane was evaluated through permeation experiment with synthetic seawater, and the structure of the novel membrane was characterized by using SEM, AFM and XPS. Furthermore, the separation properties of the TFC membrane were tested by examining the reverse osmosis performances of various conditions, the boron rejection performance and the long-term stability. The results show that the desired TFC seawater reverse osmosis membrane has a typical salt rejection of 99.4% and a flux of about 35 L/m² h for a feed aqueous solution containing 3.5 wt.% NaCl at 5.5 MPa, and an attractive boron rejection of more than 92% at natural pH of 7–8; that the novel seawater reverse osmosis membrane appears to comprise a thicker, smoother and less cross-linking film structure. Additionally, the TFC membrane exhibits good long-term stability.     

Biosorption of actinides from dilute waste actinide solution by egg-shell membrane

Removal of radioactive elements from the effluent and waste aqueous solutions is an important problem. In previous laboratory batch experiments, hen egg-shell membrane (ESM) was stable as an insoluble protein and was very capable of binding heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. Batch laboratory pH profile, time dependency, and capacity experiments were performed to determine the binding of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) to ESM. Batch pH profile experiments indicated that the optimum pH for binding these actinides was approx 6.0 (U) or 3.0 (Th). The adsorption isotherms were developed at pH 5.0 (U) or 3.0 (Th) at 25°C, and the adsorption equilibrium data fitted both Langmuir and Freundlich models. The maximum uptakes by the Langmuir model were about 240 mg U/g and 60 mg Th/g dry weight ESM. In addition, their adsorption capacities increased as salt concentration increased. ESM could also accumulate uranium from dilute aqueous solution by adjusting to the optimum pH. These results showed that ESM was effective for removing actinides from solution and would be useful in filtration technology to remove actinides from aqueous solution. S.-I. Ishikawa is a research fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.     

Influence of operating conditions on the rejection of cobalt and lead ions in aqueous solutions by a nanofiltration polyamide membrane

The potential use of nanofiltration polyamide membrane for removing cobalt and lead ions from wastewater was investigated. Rejection experiments were conducted with Pb(NO₃)₂ and Co(NO₃)₂ in both single-salt solutions and mixtures. Experimental rejection rates were corrected for concentration polarization phenomenon by means of film theory. The structural features of the membrane (pore radius and thickness-to-porosity ratio) were first estimated from the fitting of glucose rejection rates. Its surface charge properties were then investigated in single-salt solutions at pH values between 3 and 7. Rejection of both heavy metal ions was found to be influenced by operating conditions such as permeate flux, solution pH and feed salt concentration. In single-salt solutions, rejection of lead was higher than that of cobalt at pH ≥ 5. This behavior may be explained by (i) higher normalized volume charge density in the Pb(NO₃)₂ than in the Co(NO₃)₂ solution and (ii) lower ionic strength of the Pb(NO₃)₂ solution as compared with the Co(NO₃)₂ solution. At pH < 5, the dielectric exclusion would be more important for Co(NO₃)₂ than for Pb(NO₃). Lead rejection was almost the same in both single-salt solutions and ternary mixtures, whereas cobalt rejection was strongly affected by the presence of lead. Cobalt was found to be rejected much more than lead in mixtures at equal mass concentrations, the difference between rejections of the two cations being greater as pH increased.     

Effect of Polyethylene glycol methyl ether blend Humic acid on poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluropropylene) PVDF-HFP membranes: pH responsiveness and antifouling behavior with optimization approach

Flat sheet asymmetric membranes were fabricated with homogeneous solution of poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-co-HFP) using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent via phase inversion method. PEGME (Poly ethylene glycol methyl ether) (M_n 5000) blend Humic Acid (HA), of different mole ratio was used as additive. Characterization of the membranes was done by Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies. Liquid-liquid displacement porosimetry (LLDP) study evaluated the morphological parameters, average pore size and pore size distribution. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) (M_W - 68,000 Da) was used to study the antifouling effect and pore blocking mechanism of the membranes. The pure water flux (PWF), solute rejection and flux recovery ratio drastically increases for the PEGME blended HA membranes whereas the water contact angle decreases significantly. The pH responsiveness character of the prepared membranes altered the hydraulic permeability and rejection % at different pH. Finally, optimization of the variables contributing towards the PWF and BSA rejection of the desired membrane was performed using Design expert software 9.0 TRIAL through ANOVA (analysis of variance) using the combination of response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD).     

高效液相色谱-二极管阵列检测器同时测定化妆品中的九种染料及中间体

建立了用高效液相色谱-二极管阵列检测器(HPLC-PDA)同时检测9种染料及中间体的系统方法。首先采用超声提取的方法处理样品,对提取溶剂和提取时间进行了选择,确定用甲醇-0.01 mol/L 乙酸铵(体积比为2∶1)作提取溶剂,超声提取20 min。然后,采用C18柱,以甲醇-0.01 mol/L乙酸铵(pH 6.2)为流动相梯度洗脱,用PDA检测。以保留时间定性,并以紫外吸收光谱图辅助定性,以外标法定量。定量检测波长为230 nm,15 min内可对9种目标物同时进行测定,且各化合物都达到基线分离(分离度大于1.5)。经测定,该方法的平均回收率(n=8)为81.0%～105.6%,相对标准偏差（RSD）为0.8%～4.9%,检出限(以信噪比为3计)为0.1～2 μg。该方法简单、快速,能有效提取和分离测定化妆品中9种染料及中间体。将该方法用于实际化妆品样品的检测,结果令人满意。     

Release of nortriptyline hydrochloride from oil-water microemulsions

The release of nortritptyline hydrochloride from oil-in-water (o/w) microemulsions (isopropyl myristate as oil, propylene glycol as cosurfactant, polysorbate 80 as surfactant and phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, as the continuous phase) containing increasing concentrations of polyethylene glycol 400, used to facilitate the diffusion of a drug from the inner oily phase of the microemulsion to the outer aqueous phase of such a dispersion system, was studied by determining the permeability constants of the drug through hydrophilic and lipophilic membranes separating the o/w microemulsions from the receiving aqueous phase (phosphate buffer pH 7.4). The permeability of nortriptyline hydrochloride from microemulsions through the lipophilic membrane increased as the concentration of polyethylene glycol 400 in the disperse system increased. The apparent permeability constant for nortriptyline hydrochloride, from the microemulsion without polyethylene glycol, was 1.36 x 10(-3) cm x h(-1), it increased up to 7.80 x 10(-3) cm x h(-1) in the presence of polyethylene glycol at a concentration of 50% (v/v) of the initial volume of the aqueous phase.     

Preparation,characterization and application of a novel thermal stable composite nanofiltration membrane

A thermal stable composite membrane was prepared by interfacial polymerization of piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on poly(phthalazinone ether amide) (PPEA) ultrafiltration membrane. The effect of reaction parameters on the performance of composite membranes was studied and optimized. The surface morphologies of the composite membrane and the substrate were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The rejection of optimized composite membrane for dyes Congo red (CGR) and Acid chrome blue K (ACBK), the molecular weight (MW) of which is over 400, was over 99.2%, with a flux at about 180 L m⁻² h⁻¹. While the rejection for NaCl was only 18.2% with a flux over 270 L m⁻² h⁻¹, when tested at 1.0 MPa 60 °C. The composite membrane was applied in the desalination-purification experiment of dye ACBK and NaCl mixed solution. The flux of the membrane increased obviously as the operation pressure and/or temperature increased, while the rejection for dye was constant and kept over 99.3%. The purification experiments were accomplished effectively at 1.0 MPa, 80 °C. Only after five rounds of desalination-concentration experiment, about 160 min, the salt mixed in dye solution was fully removed. The initial flux of the eighth cycle was about 254 L m⁻² h⁻¹, which was only 20 L m⁻² h⁻¹ lower than that of the first round. The rejection of the membrane was constant and kept over 99.3% through out the eight cycles of purification experiment.     

Structure-property relationships for novel wholly aromatic polyamide-hydrazides containing various proportions of para-phenylene and meta-phenylene units III. Preparation and properties of semi-permeable membranes for water desalination by reverse osmosis separation performance

Flat sheet asymmetric reverse osmosis membranes were successfully prepared from N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solutions of a series of novel wholly aromatic polyamide-hydrazides that contained different amounts of para- and meta-phenylene rings. These polyamide-hydrazides were synthesized by a low temperature solution polycondensation reactions of either 4-amino-3-hydroxybenzhydrazide or 3-amino-4-hydroxybenzhydrazide with an equimolar amount of either terephthaloyl dichloride [TCl], isophthaloyl dichloride [ICl] or mixtures of various molar ratios of TCl and ICl in anhydrous DMAc as a solvent. All the polymers have the same structural formula except of the way of linking phenylene units inside the polymer chains. The content of para- to meta-phenylene moieties was varied within these polymers so that the changes in the latter were 10 mol% from polymer to polymer, starting from an overall content of 0-100 mol%. All the membranes were characterized for their salt rejection (%) and water permeability (cm³ cm⁻² day⁻¹) of 0.5 N aqueous sodium chloride feed solution at 3924 kPa operating pressure. The effects of polymers structural variations together with several processing parameters to achieve the best combination of high selectivity and permeability were studied. Effects of various processing parameters of the membranes on their transport properties were investigated by varying the temperature and period of the solvent evaporation of the cast membranes, coagulation temperature of the thermally treated membranes, annealing of the coagulated membranes, casting solution composition, membrane thickness and the operating pressure. During the thermal treatment step, the asymmetric structure of the membranes with a thin dense skin surface layer supported on a more porous layer was established. The former layer seems to be responsible for the separation performance. The results obtained showed that membrane performance was very much influenced by all of the examined processing variables and that membranes with considerably different properties could be obtained from the same polymer sample by using different processing parameters. Thus, the use of higher temperatures and longer exposure times in the protomembrane forming thermal treatment step would result in a membrane of lower solvent content and with a thicker skin layer and consequently led to higher salt rejection at lower water permeability. Most significantly, the membrane properties clearly depended on the polymer structure. Under identical processing condition, substitution para-phenylene rings for meta-phenylene ones within the polymer series resulted in an increase in salt rejection capability of the membranes. This may be attributed to an increase in their chain symmetry associated with increased molecular packing and rigidity through enhanced intermolecular hydrogen bonding. This produces a barrier with much smaller pores that would efficiently prevent the solute particles from penetration. Coagulation temperature controls the structure (porosity) of the membrane particularly its supported layer and consequently its water permeability. Moreover, annealing of the prepared membranes in deionized water at 100 °C was found essential for useful properties in the single-stage separation applications, which required optimum membrane selectivity. Upon annealing, the membrane shrinks resulting in reducing its pore size particularly in the skin layer and consequently improving the salt rejection. Addition of lithium chloride to the casting solution produced a membrane with increased porosity and improved water permeability. Salt rejection capability of the membranes is clearly affected by the applied pressure, reaching its maximum at nearly 4000 kPa. Furthermore, the water permeability is inversely proportional to the membrane thickness, while the salt rejection is not substantially influenced.     

Calculation of skin permeability coefficient for ionized and unionized species of indomethacin.

The contribution of ionized and unionized species to the overall permeation of weak electrolytes through the skin was investigated to determine the effect of pH in the vehicle on the permeability of indomethacin (IDM), as a model drug, through hairless rat skin. The permeability of IDM through polydimethylsiloxane (silicone) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) membranes which may reflect lipid and aqueous pathway, respectively, was also measured for comparison. As the pH in the vehicle increased, there was an exponential increase in the skin permeation rate of IDM. The permeation rate of IDM through the silicone membrane was constant independent of pH, whereas that through the pHEMA membrane increased with increasing pH, similar to the skin permeation. The permeability coefficients of ionized and unionized species through the skin estimated using the skin permeation rates and solubilities of IDM at various pHs were 1.50 x 10(-7) and 2.79 x 10(-5) cm/s, respectively. These results indicated that the permeation of ionized species greatly contributed to the total permeation of IDM at higher pH, and that the total permeation rate of IDM was determined by the permeation of unionized species at lower pH. These contributions depend on the pH and pKa values and the ratio of permeability coefficient of each species. It was also confirmed that the skin has at least two kinds of permeation pathways and these two species permeate through a different pathway.     

pH-induced reversible permeability control of the 4-carboxy acrylanilide-methyl methacrylate copolymer membrane

To develop a polymer membrane whose permeability of water-soluble compounds could be controlled in response to a pH change of the medium, a polyelectrolyte membrane containing an aromatic carboxyl group, i.e., 4-carboxyacrylanilide (CAAn)-methyl methacrylate(MMA) copolymer membrane, was prepared. The water content of the CAAn-MMA copolymer membrane increased with increasing pH owing to ionization change in the CAAn moiety. This increase was particularly remarkable in the pH range from 5 to 7. The change in water content was reversible and could be controlled by the CAAn composition in the copolymer. Permeation of 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethoxy)benzene(DHEB) through the CAAn-MMA copolymer membrane was investigated in solutions of various pH. Change in the permeability of DHEB in function of the pH was similar to the change in membrane water content. This was explained by an increase in the permeation pathway of DHEB in the membrane, in proportion to that in the water content. Moreover, when a pH-sensitive membrane was placed in a solution in which an enzymatic reaction occurred, substrate-induced permeation control of DHEB through the CAAn-MMA copolymer membrane was possible.     

pH-responsive vesicles based on a hydrolytically self-cross-linkable copolymer

A new type of shape-persistent, pH-responsive vesicle was prepared by the self-assembly of a novel poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-stat-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate], PEO-b-P(DEA-stat-TMSPMA), copolymer. Vesicles were formed spontaneously in aqueous THF solution, with the hydrophilic PEO chains forming the corona and the pH-sensitive P(DEA-stat-TMSPMA) blocks being located in the membrane walls. Hydrolytic cross-linking within the hydrophobic membrane walls fixed the vesicle morphology. The resulting colloidally stable vesicles were characterized by 1H NMR, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic laser light scattering (DLS), and stopped-flow fluorescence experiments. The latter technique indicated that the permeability of the vesicle walls was sensitive to the pH of the aqueous solution, as expected. Gold-decorated vesicles were obtained by in situ reduction of AuCl4- anions to produce gold nanoparticles within the vesicle walls. (Yellow, hydrophilic PEO; green, pH-responsive DEA residues; blue, hydrolytically self-cross-linkable TMSPMA residues.)