Biodegradation Process of PSF-PUR Blend Hollow Fiber Membranes Using Escherichia coli Bacteria-Evaluation of Changes in Properties and Porosity

Wioleta Sikorska; Małgorzata Milner-Krawczyk; Monika Wasyłeczko; Cezary Wojciechowski; Andrzej Chwojnowski

doi:10.3390/polym13081311

Biodegradation Process of PSF-PUR Blend Hollow Fiber Membranes Using Escherichia coli Bacteria-Evaluation of Changes in Properties and Porosity

Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 16;13(8):1311. doi: 10.3390/polym13081311.

Authors

Wioleta Sikorska¹, Małgorzata Milner-Krawczyk², Monika Wasyłeczko¹, Cezary Wojciechowski¹, Andrzej Chwojnowski¹

Affiliations

¹ Nałęcz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Trojdena 4 Str., 02-109 Warsaw, Poland.
² Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Noakowskiego 3 Str., 00-644 Warsaw, Poland.

Abstract

This work was focused on biodegradation with Escherichia coli bacteria studies of PSF-PUR blend semipermeable hollow fiber membranes that possibly can undergo a partial degradation process. Hollow fiber membranes were obtained from polysulfone (PSF) and polyurethane (PUR) containing ester bonds in the polymer chain in various weight ratios using two solvents: N,N-Dimethylmethanamide (DMF) or N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP). The membranes that underwent the biodegradation process were tested for changes in the ultrafiltration coefficient (UFC), retention and cut-off point. Moreover, the membranes were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), MeMoExplorer^TM Software and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The influence of E. coli and its metabolites has been proven by the increase in UFC after biodegradation and changes in the selectivity and porosity of individual membranes after the biodegradation process.

Keywords: E. coli; PSF-PUR membranes; PUR degradation; biodegradation process; partly degradable hollow fiber membranes.