Chitosan Immobilized Porous Polyolefin As Sustainable and Efficient Antibacterial Membranes

Abstract

Polyolefinic membranes have attracted a great deal of interest owing to their ease of processing and chemical inertness. In this study, porous polyolefin membranes were derived by selectively etching PEO from PE/PEO (polyethylene/poly­(ethylene oxide)) blends. The hydrophobic polyolefin (low density polyethylene) was treated with UV-ozone followed by dip coating in chitosan acetate solution to obtain a hydrophilic-antibacterial surface. The chitosan immobilized PE membranes were further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). It was found that surface grafting of chitosan onto PE membranes enhanced the surface roughness and the concentration of nitrogen (or amine) scaled with increasing concentration of chitosan (0.25 to 2% wt/vol), as inferred from Kjeldahl nitrogen analysis. The pure water flux was almost similar for chitosan immobilized PE membranes as compared to membranes without chitosan. The bacterial population, substantially reduced for membranes with higher concentration of chitosan. For instance, 90 and 94% reduction in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colony forming unit respectively was observed with 2% wt/vol of chitosan. This study opens new avenues in designing polyolefinic based antibacterial membranes for water purification.

Antibacterial Membranes for Water Remediation with Controlled Leaching of Biocidal Silver Aided by Prior Grafting of Poly(ethylene imine) on to Ozone‐Treated Polyethylene

“…The modification of PE‐COOH to PE‐PEI was confirmed by the presence of nitrogen on the PE membrane in XPS, as shown in figure 3a. The PE‐PEI exhibited a peak at 400 eV which corresponds to the amide linkage arising due to bonding of carboxyl group with free amine . Further, the silver deposition on PE (PE‐PEI−Ag) membranes was confirmed by the doublet peak of Ag (3d 5/2 ) at 368.4 eV and Ag (3d 3/2 ) at 374.4 eV.…”

“…The cell membranes provide the shape and required strength for cell to withstand the internal osmotic pressure . Thus a complexation with the cells outer membrane results in interruption of osmotic balance which leads to the release of intracellular electrolytes . The release of intracellular electrolytes results in lysis of the cell .…”

“…Further, melt blending can be easily scaled up. Polyolefins have commercial importance due to their chemical inertness, ease of processing, and low cost . Polyolefins are hydrophobic and are more prone to adherence to non‐polar solutes (like hydrophobic particles, non‐polar solutes or bacteria).…”

Poly(hydroxy acid) Nanoparticles for the Encapsulation and Controlled Release of Doxorubicin

“…It was envisaged that due to its poly(cationic) nature, poly[(PheLA) 10.4 ‐ b ‐(LysLA) 31.4 ] may be exploited for antimicrobial applications and gene delivery . However, its polycationic nature also dictates that this PHA could pose cytotoxicity problems to healthy cells if it were to be used for drug delivery in vivo .…”

The Key Role of Modifications in Biointerfaces toward Rendering Antibacterial and Antifouling Properties in Polymeric Membranes for Water Remediation: A Critical Assessment

“…Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Amines: Many studies have been reported on the use of amine derivatives like chitosan, [100][101][102][103][104][105] polyethylenimine (PEI), [106][107][108][109] guanidine, [110][111][112][113] and dopamine [114][115][116][117] for antibacterial and antifouling applications. After protonation in the presence of water, these derivatives exhibit a net positive charge.…”