Protein fouling resistant membrane prepared by amphiphilic pegylated polyethersulfone

A mild and facile grafting of poly(ether glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) monomers onto polyethersulfone (PES) was carried out. Then, the PES-g-PEGMA membranes with integrally anisotropic morphology were fabricated through the coupling of non-solvent induced phase inversion and surface segregation. Compared with PES control membrane, the surface hydrophilicity of PES-g-PEGMA membranes was remarkably enhanced due to the drastic enrichment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments on the membrane surface; protein adsorption was significantly inhibited due to the hydrogen bonding interactions between hydrophilic groups and water molecules. Ultrafiltration experiments were used to assess the permeability and protein fouling resistance of the PES-g-PEGMA membranes. It was found that the PES-g-PEGMA membranes with higher surface coverage of PEG segments displayed stronger antibiofouling property. Moreover, the stable antibiofouling property for PES-g-PEGMA membranes was acquired due to covalent bonding interactions between hydrophilic PEGMA side chains and PES main chains.