Surface modification of polypropylene microfiltration membranes by graft polymerization of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone

A hydrophilic polymer, poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone), was tethered on the surface of polypropylene microfiltration membrane (PPMM) by UV photo-assisted and γ-ray pre-irradiation induced graft polymerizations. Results revealed that the γ-ray pre-irradiation graft polymerization was more efficient in view of the grafting degree. The chemical changes of the membrane surface were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Pure water contact angle on poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-grafted PPMM decreased with the increase of grafting degree, which indicated an enhanced hydrophilicity for the modified membrane. Both bovine serum albumin adsorption and static platelets adhesion were measured to evaluate the bio-compatibility of the poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-modified PPMM. The statistical amounts of adsorbed bovine serum albumin and adhered platelets on unit membrane area decreased significantly, which to a certain degree demonstrated that the hemocompatibility of PPMM was improved. The N₂ permeability and the mean pore diameters of different PPMMs increased at first, then decreased after certain grafting degree. The changes of water flux followed a similar tendency. These indicated that at low grafting degree pore degradation induced by γ-ray irradiation had a major impact on permeability, while this was overcompensated by the grafted polymer at high grafting degrees.