Simple fabrication of Cu~(2+) doped calcium alginate hydrogel filtration membrane with excellent anti-fouling and antibacterial properties

Herein,copper ion doped calcium alginate(Cu~(2+)/CaAlg) composite hydrogel filtration membranes were prepared by using natural polymer sodium alginate(NaAlg) as raw material.The thermal stability and structure of the composite membranes were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy.The mechanical strength,anti-fouling performance,hydrophilicity and filtration performance of the membrane were studied.The results show that Cu~(2+)/CaAlg hydrogel membrane has excelle nt mechanical properties and thermal stability.The anti-swelling ability of the membrane was greatly enhanced by doping Cu~(2+).After three alternate filtration cycles,the flux recovery rate of Cu~(2+)/CaAlg hydrogel membrane can still reach 85%,indicating that the membrane has good antipollution performance.When the operation pressure was 0.1 MPa,the rejection of coomassie brilliant blue G250 reached 99.8% with a flux of 46.3 L m ~2 h ~1,while the Na_2 SO_4 rejection was less than 10.0%.The Cu~(2+)/CaAlg membrane was recycled after 24 h in the filtration process,and its flux and rejection rate did not decrease significantly,indicating that the hydrogel membrane has long-term application potential.The Cu~(2+)/CaAlg membrane has a wide range of applications prospect in dye desalination,fine separation and biopharmaceutical technology fields.     

Sinulariols A-S, 19-oxygenated cembranoids from the Chinese soft coral Sinularia rigida

Chemical examination of a Chinese soft coral Sinularia rigida resulted in the isolation and characterization of 19 new cembrane-type diterpenoids, designated as sinulariols A-S (1-19). Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic (2D NMR, IR, and MS) analysis in association with modified Mosher’s method. All compounds featured unusual 19-oxygenated functionalities, which are rarely found from cembranoid family. The biogenetic transformation of the isolated compounds is postulated. Part of the isolated cembranoids showed significant anti-fouling activity.     

Self-cleaning Anti-fouling TiO2/Poly(aryl ether sulfone) Composite Ultrafiltration Membranes

A series of novel TiO2/poly(aryl ether sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes with anti-fouling and self-cleaning properties was designed and prepared. First, anti-photocatalytic degraded fluorine contained polv(aryl ether sulfone) matrix(PAES-F) was synthesized. Then the composite membranes were prepared via TiO2 nanopartides and PAES-F polymer matrix by solution blending and non-solvent induced phase inversion methods. Further, separation efficiency, fouling behavior and self-cleaning property of the composite ultrafiltration(UF) membranes were investigated by dead-end filtration experiments using a polyacn lamide solution. The composite UF membranes exhibited outstanding self-cleaning efficiency and anti-photocatalytic degraded property after exposure to simulated sunliglit irradiation.The water flux recovery ratios(FRR)of the optimal composite UF membranes could reach 74.24%, which was attributable to photocatalytic degradation of the organic contaminant by TiO2. And the retention rates of the composite UF membranes could maintain over 97%, which indicated the excellent photocatalytic degradation resistance of the fluorine contained PAES-F matrix. The novel high perfomiance composite UF membranes have a broad application prospect in water treatment.     

Hydrophilic modification of polyethersulfone porous membranes via a thermal-induced surface crosslinking approach

A thermal-induced surface crosslinking process was employed to perform a hydrophilic surface modification of PES porous membranes. Difunctional poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) was used as the main crosslinking modifier. The addition of trifunctional trimethylolpropane trimethylacrylate (TMPTMA) into the reaction solutions accelerated the crosslinking progress of PEGDA on PES membranes. The membrane surface morphology and chemical composition were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The mass gains (MG) of the modified membranes could be conveniently modulated by varying the PEGDA concentration and crosslinking time. The measurements of water contact angle showed that the hydrophilicity of PES membranes was remarkably enhanced by the coating of crosslinked PEGDA layer. When a moderate mass gain of about 150 μg/cm² was reached, both the permeability and anti-fouling ability of PES membranes could be significantly improved. Excessive mass gain not only contributed little to the anti-fouling ability, but also brought a deteriorated permeability to PES membranes.     

Surface modification of chromatography adsorbents by low temperature low pressure plasma

In this study we show how low temperature glow discharge plasma can be used to prepare bi-layered chromatography adsorbents with non-adsorptive exteriors. The commercial strong anion exchange expanded bed chromatography matrix, Q HyperZ, was treated with plasmas in one of two general ways. Using a purpose-designed rotating reactor, plasmas were employed to either: (i) remove anion exchange ligands at or close to the exterior surface of Q HyperZ, and replace them with polar oxygen containing functions (‘plasma etching and oxidation’); or (ii) bury the same surface exposed ligands beneath thin polymer coatings (‘plasma polymerization coating’) using appropriate monomers (vinyl acetate, vinyl pyrrolidone, safrole) and argon as the carrier gas. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis (first ∼10 nm depth) of Q HyperZ before and after the various plasma treatments confirmed that substantial changes to the elemental composition of Q HyperZ's exterior had been inflicted in all cases. The atomic percent changes in carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, yttrium and zirconium observed after being exposed to air plasma etching were entirely consistent with: the removal of pendant Q (trimethylammonium) functions; increased exposure of the underlying yttrium-stabilised zirconia shell; and introduction of hydroxyl and carbonyl functions. Following plasma polymerization treatments (with all three monomers tested), the increased atomic percent levels of carbon and parallel drops in nitrogen, yttrium and zirconium provided clear evidence that thin polymer coats had been created at the exteriors of Q HyperZ adsorbent particles. No changes in adsorbent size and surface morphology, nor any evidence of plasma-induced damage could be discerned from scanning electron micrographs, light micrographs and measurements of particle size distributions following 3 h exposure to air (220 V; 35.8 W L⁻¹) or ‘vinyl acetate/argon’ (170 V; 16.5 W L⁻¹) plasmas. Losses in bulk chloride exchange capacity before and after exposure to plasmas enabled effective modification depths within hydrated Q HyperZ adsorbent particles to be calculated as 0.2–1.2 μm, depending on the conditions applied. The depth of plasma induced alteration was strongly influenced by the power input and size of the treated batch, i.e. dropping the power or increasing the batch size resulted in reduced plasma penetration and therefore shallower modification. The selectivity of ‘surface vs. core’ modification imparted to Q HyperZ by the various plasma treatments was evaluated in static and dynamic binding studies employing appropriate probes, i.e. plasmid DNA, sonicated calf thymus DNA and bovine serum albumin. In static binding studies performed with adsorbents that had been exposed to plasmas at the 5 g scale (25 g L⁻¹ of plasma reactor), the highest ‘surface/core’ modification selectivity was observed for Q HyperZ that had been subjected to 3 h of air plasma etching at 220 V (35.8 W L⁻¹). This treatment removed ∼53% of ‘surface’ DNA binding at the expense of a 9.3% loss in ‘core’ protein binding. Even more impressive results were obtained in dynamic expanded bed adsorption studies conducted with Q HyperZ adsorbents that had been treated with air (220 V, 3 h) and ‘vinyl acetate/argon’ (170 V, 3 h) plasmas at 10.5 g scale (52.5 g L⁻¹ of plasma reactor). Following both plasma treatments: the 10% breakthrough capacities of the modified Q HyperZ adsorbents towards ‘surface’ binding DNA probes dropped very significantly (30–85%); the DNA induced inter-particle cross-linking and contraction of expanded beds observed during application of sonicated DNA on native Q HyperZ was completely eradicated; but the ‘core’ protein binding performance remained unchanged cf. that of the native Q HyperZ starting material.     

含PEG的双亲性氟硅改性丙烯酸树脂防污涂层的制备及性能

以烯丙基聚乙二醇(APEG)、甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)和丙烯酸丁酯(BA)为共聚物单体合成了含聚乙二醇(PEG)的羟基丙烯酸预聚物(BOH),该预聚物再与α,ω-三乙氧基硅烷封端的聚二甲基硅烷低聚物(TSU)和α,ω-三乙氧基硅烷封端的全氟聚醚低聚物(PFU)通过缩合反应制得含有PEG的氟硅改性丙烯酸交联网络防污涂层.通过核磁共振氢谱(~1H-NMR)、红外光谱(FTIR)对聚合物的结构进行了表征.通过原位纳米测试系统、接触角测试和生物评价等表征方法,探讨了树脂中TSU,PFU和BOH配比对表面能、弹性模量及其生物防污性能的影响.结果表明兼具氟硅低表面能性和PEG抗蛋白吸附性能的交联网络涂层TFS-BOH-B具有好的防污性能,且随着TSU和PFU含量增加,防污性能提高.     

Theoretical study of the adsorption of DOPA-quinone and DOPA-quinone chlorides on Cu (1 0 0) surface

The marine mussel secreted adhesive proteins and could bind strongly to all kinds of surfaces. Studies indicated that there was an unusual amino acid 3,4-dihydroxy-l-phenylanine (DOPA). DOPA could be oxidized to DOPA-quinone easily, which had a superior ability to on surface directly. The technology of electrolyzing seawater was employed to generate HOCl solution to react with DOPA-quinone and form DOPA-quinone chlorides (DOPA-quinone-Cl) to hinder the adhesion. However, the detailed hinder-mechanism remained unknown to be fully explained. Herein, using quantum chemical density functional theory methods, we have systematically studied three kinds of adsorption for DOPA-quinone and DOPA-quinone-Cl on Cu (1 0 0) surface: hydroxyl oxygen-side vertical, carbonyl oxygen-side vertical, amino N-terminal vertical adsorptions and carried out geometry optimization and energy calculation. The results showed that two molecules could absorb on the Cu (1 0 0) through hydroxyl oxygen-side vertical adsorption, while the other two kinds of adsorption could not form an effective adsorption. Calculations of adsorption energy for hydroxyl oxygen-side vertical adsorption indicated that: after HOCl modification, adsorption energy decreased from −247.2310 kJ/mol to −177.0579 kJ/mol for DOPA-quinone and DOPA-quinone-Cl; and the Mulliken Charges Populations showed that the electrons transferred from surface to DOPA-quinone-Cl was less than that to DOPA-quinone, namely, the fewer the number of electrons transferred, the weaker interaction between molecular and surface. After the theoretical calculation, we found that the anti-foul goal had been achieved by electrolysis of seawater to generate HOCl to modify DOPA-quinone, which led to the reduction of adsorption energy and transferred electrons.     

抗油污染α-纤维素中空纤维超滤膜油-水分离性能的研究

以α-纤维素为原料,一水合N-甲基吗琳-N-氧化物(NMMO.H2O)为溶剂,聚乙二醇(PEG400)为添加剂,去离子水为内外凝胶浴,采用浸入相转化法制备用于油水分离的中空纤维非对称超滤膜,并采用纯水通量表征了膜的性能.用纤维素中空纤维超滤膜进行油水分离实验,油水乳液的截留率可达到99%以上,渗透液含油量小于10 mg/L,达到国家环境保护排放要求.考察了物理清洗、物理清洗加0.1 mol/L HCL清洗、物理清洗加0.1 mol/L NaOH清洗3种清洗方法对油水污染后膜的清洗效果.其中,物理清洗加0.1 mol/LNaOH清洗的清洗方法的通量恢复率达到99%.与其它种类的膜相比,α-纤维素中空纤维膜的油水通量衰减率仅为9.5%,表现出优异的抗油污染性能.     

Surface glycosylation of polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membrane to improve its anti-fouling performance

Surface glycosylation is one of the most promising strategies to fabricate biomimetic surface for membrane. Previous studies confirmed that cyclic sugars provide recognition sites for specific proteins, while ring-opening sugars offer better hydrophilicity and anti-adsorption ability to proteins. To improve the anti-fouling property of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membrane, a ring-opening glycomonomer d-gluconamidoethyl methacrylate (GAMA) was grafted onto the surface of the membrane by ultraviolet (UV)-initiated grafting polymerization. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to characterize the chemical and morphological changes of the membrane surface. Water contact angle, protein adsorption and protein filtration were employed to evaluate the anti-fouling performance of the membrane. The protein adsorption experiment was carried out with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA), and the adsorption quantity was measured locally by laser confocal scanning microscope (LCSM). This method supplied a simple and direct manner to evaluate the protein adsorption performance of membrane, and the interference of the support was also avoided. The results revealed that by the surface glycosylation procedure, the hydrophilicity was enhanced and the adsorption of FITC-BSA was inhibited significantly. The flux recovery ratio was also increased after modification, indicating that the anti-fouling performance of PAN membrane was improved by the glycosylation strategy.     

Theoretical investigation on the reaction of adhesion unit dopa in mussel with electrolyzing seawater

Adhesive proteins secreted by the marine mussel could bind strongly to all kinds of surfaces, for instance, ship hulls and petroleum pipelines. Studies indicated that there was an unusual amino acid 3,4-dihydroxy-l-phenylanine (dopa), which was the crucial super adhesive unit in the proteins. The technology of electrolyzing seawater was employed to generate HOCl solution to hinder the adhesion. However, the detailed anti-fouling mechanism of HOCl solution remained unknown to be fully explained. Herein, we theoretically reported a study of single molecular (dopa) reaction under the HOCl solution environment, which would be helpful to reveal the anti-fouling mechanism through electrolyzing seawater. By using the density functional theory (DFT) quantum mechanics procedure, we theoretically studied the reaction mechanism of the adhesive unit dopa in mussel with electrolyzing seawater. Two possible pathways (1 and 2) were obtained (Fig. 6). The transition state for each pathway was determined, the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) was analyzed and the mechanism had been confirmed. The calculations indicated dopa tended to have electrophonic attacking substitution reaction to generate 3-chlorine-4,5-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa-Cl) with different pathways, which hindered the formulation of conjuncted dopa–dopa and thus the stickiness among mussel adhesive proteins reduced. The transition states computation showed that pathway (1) had one transition state (TS1-1) with an activation energy of 102.22 kJ mol⁻¹, while pathway (2) had two transition states (TS2-1, TS2-2) with activation energies of 191.98 kJ mol⁻¹ and 42.00 kJ mol⁻¹ respectively and one intermediate (IM2-1). Rate constant value of pathway (1) was much bigger than that of pathway (2) regardless of high or low temperature, which meant that in the reaction process, pathway (1) was the favorable reaction step; but as the temperature rose, the competitiveness of pathway (2) gradually increased. After the theoretical calculation, we found that it was Cl⁺ played an important and direct role in the dopa's modification.