Hydrophilized Ultrafiltration Membranes Synthesized from Acrylic Acid Grafted Polyethersulfone for Downstream Processing of Therapeutic Insulin and Cobalamin

Abstract

The present study focuses on synthesis of novel high-performance acrylic acid (AA) grafted polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for purification of small therapeutic biomolecules such as urea, insulin, and cobalamin. The membranes were indigenously synthesized by adding polyethylene glycol (PEG) of 6 kDa M.Wt. as a pore former and subsequent grafting of AA using 2 to 6 wt.% concentrations under UV-induced photo grafting. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the PEG additive profoundly influences the pore density on the membrane surface. FTIR spectra confirm the graft polymerization of AA with the PES substrate. Separation performance of the grafted membranes was evaluated to establish the trade-off between the degree of grafting and MWCO. From the experimental results, the pure water flux (PWF) of 6% grafted PES membrane was enhanced from 8.5 (PES [0] [6]) to 18.20 l m−2 h−1 (PES [6 +] [6]) in the presence of PEG pore former, respectively. The grafting concentration window of 2–6% resulted in selective membranes to altogether remove uremic toxins into the permeate with retention of high molecular size proteins. Hence, 5 and 6 wt.% AA grafted membranes exhibited > 90% rejection for insulin and cobalamin biomolecules along with 24.5 and 23.8 l m−2 h−1 bar−1 permeability towards urea, respectively. The process results correlate well with the MWCO values of membranes ranging from 1 to 10 kDa. This work provides the efficacy of these grafted membranes for potential application in the downstream processing of therapeutic biomolecules such as insulin and cobalamin.

Radiation‐Induced Admicellar Graft Polymerization of 2‐Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate onto Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membranes Using an Electron Beam Accelerator

“…In addition, with a large amount of PHEMA grafted, the hydrophilic membrane attracted more water molecules as demonstrated by contact angle measurements in Fig. 7, leading to improvement of water transportation within the membrane [33,51]. From this result, the low amount of PHEMA grafted on the PVDF surface can be assumed due to the thin layer of polymer on the top layer, which gives a high water flux value.…”

A Multi-step High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Technique for the Extraction and Purification of Medical-Grade Cyclosporine A

“…[14][15] Despite its flaws, conventional DSP purification strains and chromatography can still be considered the workhorse of practically every industrial-scale biotech product manufacturing. [16][17] The most noticeable is the significant cost, which is related to the need for many pre-purification processes to avoid column obstruction. For two basic reasons, excess physical processes are undesirable: more stages equal less recovery and longer, more expensive process duration.…”

A Comparison of the Effect of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) as Additives in Ultrafiltration Membranes (PES-UF): Characterization and Performance

“…Hydrophilic polymers, such as cellulose acetate, chitosan, PVP, and PEG, are common additives in casting solutions to obtain improved hydrophilic properties [ 17 ]. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) acts as a pore former and is known to influence the pore density on the membrane surface [ 18 ]. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are natural nanomaterials primarily derived from naturally occurring cellulose fiber [ 19 ].…”