Sorptive and Separation Properties of Ultrafiltration Membranes on the Basis of Sulfonate-Containing Polyamide with Respect to Bovine Serum Albumin
<p>Investigation of sorption of bovine serum albumin in the static mode and in ultrafiltration conditions by membranes produced from statistic copolymers of aromatic polyamides synthesized by polycondensation of the sodium salt of 4, 4/-diaminodiphenylamine-2-sulfo-acid and m-phenylenediamine in various ratios with chloroanhydride of isophthalic acid has been carried out. Interconnection has been established between the charge of protein macromolecules, concentration of fragments containing ionic groups in the aromatic polyamide and sorptive, separation and transport characteristics of membranes on its basis. It has been shown that dominant forces that determine membrane/protein interaction in the systems under consideration are coulomb forces, but the contribution of hydrophobic interactions is also significant. The results of mathematical processing of experimental data indicate that there is a good compliance of sorption isotherms with Langmuir’s model. Depending on the concentration of fragments containing ionic groups in the polyamide and pH of the solution, the calculated values of maximum sorption in sorbent/sorbate systems under consideration vary in the range of 0.028 to 0.338 mg/cm<sup>2</sup>. Dynamic investigations have shown that selectivity of the membranes is 85 to 98%. To assess the sorptive activity of the membranes in the course of ultrafiltration, indicators of sorption and sorptive losses calculated on the basis of the ratio of the change of mass content of protein in the process of filtration to the initial value have been used. Depending on the material used to produce the membrane and pH of the solution being filtered, sorptive losses range from 5 to 33%. Their minimum value is observed when pH is higher than the isoelectric point of the protein, i.e. in the field where protein macromolecules and the surface of the membrane have like charges.</p>