Biocompatible polyethersulfone membrane modified by hydrophilic polymer decorated magnetic nanoparticles gilded by facile external magnetic field

Abstract

Polymer-based membranes such as polyethersulfone are widely used for hemodialysis and bio-related applications; however, this type of membrane still fails to satisfy optimum performance in terms of clearance, safety, and bio-adaptability. Herein, a polymer brush of polyvinylpyrrolidone is decorated on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles by using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT), and under the guidance of an external magnetic field, the prepared magnetic nanoparticles with the polymer brush system are blended with a polyethersulfone membrane during a liquid-liquid phase inversion process. The prepared membranes with different loads of the pure magnetic nanoparticle and polyvinylpyrrolidone@magnetic nanoparticle polymer brushes are prepared, compared with the pristine membrane, the modified membrane shows a high flux value at 349 L m⁻² h⁻¹ and 99.9% bovine serum albumin protein rejection. This membrane also demonstrated improved hydrophilicity and pore structure compared with the pristine membrane. Concerning the blood biocompatibility analysis, the modified membranes acquire prolonged time for clotting factors such as prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and thrombin time while exhibiting less fibrinogen concertation at 0.4 g L⁻¹. Furthermore, for the first time, an innovative method for fouling detection based on magnetic field attenuation due to protein accumulation on the membrane surface is reported; the method in this work could be a positive booster for the safe use of polymeric membranes in hemodialysis and bio-based applications.