(568g) Synthesis of Aquaporin-Based Large-Scale Biomimetic Membrane with Enhanced Water Flux Performance

In recent years, aquaporin-based biomimetic membranes for water treatment have attracted much more attention. Although several achievements have reached and the first biomimetic membrane is commercially available, there are still many challenges for future industrial applications. In the current study, a larger piece of â??water channelâ? embedded membrane for nanofiltration (NF) based on an aquaporin Z (AqpZ) incorporated biomimetic membrane was fabricated by using a simple method. The AqpZ-incorporated vesicles were immobilized onto the sulfonated polyethersulfone (NTR7450) and ultrafiltration cellulose acetate (CA) porous membrane respectively. In situ polymerization without initiator was then conducted to form a relatively dense hydrophobic protection layer and its thickness was adjusted by changing the polymerization duration. The morphology of freeze dried membranes was observed by FESEM and the surface modification was confirmed by FTIR transmission. Membrane performance was characterized by nanofiltration test. The synthesized membrane exhibited high mechanical strength and stability during the water filtration process. Volume water flux and pure water permeability was greatly increased for the AqpZ embedded membrane compared with the results of some reported membranes. This study provides some new possibilities of using large piece of AqpZ based biomimetic membranes for the water-treatment process.