Yousaf Muhammad Usman, Madeo Cortarelli Lucca, Jebet Nerissa I, Unrine Jason M, Aich Nirupam, Tsyusko Olga V, Escobar Isabel C
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
Membranes (Basel). 2025 Mar 8;15(3):87. doi: 10.3390/membranes15030087.
The removal of small molecular weight charged compounds from aqueous solutions using membrane remains a challenge. In this study, polysulfone (PSf)- and sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK)-based membranes were fabricated via non-solvent induced phase separation process (NIPS) using N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent and water as non-solvent. Membranes were characterized structurally and morphologically, followed by toxicity assessment conducted before and after filtration, both with and without annealing at various pH values to evaluate potential leaching of trapped solvent from the membrane pores. Additionally, membrane performance was characterized using binary mixtures of cationic and anionic dyes. The results demonstrated selective filtration behavior, with cationic dyes being preferentially rejected due to size exclusion and electrostatic interactions. Additionally, a key focus of this work was the investigation of solvent leaching, framed within a Safe(r)-by-Design (SbD) approach aimed at enhancing functional performance while minimizing environmental toxicity. Toxicity assessments using a model organism, a nematode , revealed that annealing reduced solvent leaching and thus permeate toxicity, particularly at neutral pH values, by facilitating trapped solvent release prior to membrane use. These findings provide insights for the importance of including an SbD approach during membrane casting to fabricate membranes with desirable properties while minimizing toxicity.
使用膜从水溶液中去除小分子量带电化合物仍然是一个挑战。在本研究中，以聚砜（PSf）和磺化聚醚醚酮（SPEEK）为基础的膜通过非溶剂诱导相分离过程（NIPS）制备，使用N-甲基-2-吡咯烷酮（NMP）作为溶剂，水作为非溶剂。对膜进行了结构和形态表征，然后在过滤前后进行毒性评估，评估在不同pH值下退火和未退火时膜孔中截留溶剂的潜在浸出情况。此外，使用阳离子和阴离子染料的二元混合物对膜性能进行了表征。结果表明了选择性过滤行为，由于尺寸排阻和静电相互作用，阳离子染料被优先截留。此外，这项工作的一个关键重点是在安全设计（SbD）方法框架内对溶剂浸出进行研究，该方法旨在提高功能性能同时将环境毒性降至最低。使用模式生物线虫进行的毒性评估表明，退火通过在膜使用前促进截留溶剂的释放，减少了溶剂浸出，从而降低了渗透物毒性，特别是在中性pH值下。这些发现为在膜浇铸过程中纳入SbD方法以制备具有理想性能同时将毒性降至最低的膜的重要性提供了见解。
