title: Enhanced Antifouling Properties of Carbohydrate Coated Poly(ether sulfone) Membranes.
abstract: Poly(ether sulfone) membranes (PES) were modified with biologically active monosaccharides and disaccharides using aryldiazonium chemistry as a mild, one-step, surface-modification strategy. We previously proposed the modification of carbon, metals, and alloys with monosaccharides using the same method; herein, we demonstrate modification of PES membranes and the effect of chemisorbed carbohydrate layers on their resistance to biofouling. Glycosylated PES surfaces were characterized using spectroscopic methods and tested against their ability to interact with specific carbohydrate-binding proteins. Galactose-, mannose-, and lactose-modified PES surfaces were exposed to Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) solutions to assess unspecific protein adsorption in the laboratory and were found to adsorb significantly lower amounts of BSA compared to bare membranes. The ability of molecular carbohydrate layers to impart antifouling properties was further tested in the field via long-term immersive tests at a wastewater treatment plant. A combination of ATP content assays, infrared spectroscopic characterization and He-ion microscopy (HIM) imaging were used to investigate biomass accumulation at membranes. We show that, beyond laboratory applications and in the case of complex aqueous environments that are rich in biomass such as wastewater effluent, we observe significantly lower biofouling at carbohydrate-modified PES than at bare PES membrane surfaces.
authors.affiliation: †School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.|‡Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: M Daniela
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Angione
authors.affiliation: †School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.|‡Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.affiliation: ‡Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Alan P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: †School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.|‡Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Serban N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Stamatin
authors.affiliation: §Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National Centre for Sensor Research, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
authors.forename: Cormac
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fay
authors.affiliation: §Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National Centre for Sensor Research, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
authors.forename: Dermot
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.affiliation: †School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.|‡Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Eoin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Scanlan
authors.affiliation: †School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.|‡Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Paula E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Colavita
keywords: antifouling; biomimetic; carbohydrates; coatings; membranes; poly(ether sulfone)