Role of membrane and compound properties in affecting the rejection of pharmaceuticals by different RO/NF membranes

This study was conducted to assess the merits and limitations of various high-pressure membranes, tight nanofiltration （NF） membranes in particular, for the removal of trace organic compounds （TrOCs）. The performance of a low-pressure reverse osmosis （LPRO） membrane （ESPA1）, a tight NF membrane （NF90） and two loose NF membranes （HL and NF270） was compared for the rejection of 23 different pharmaceuticals （PhACs）. Efforts were also devoted to understand the effect of adsorption on the rejection performance of each membrane. Difference in hydrogen bond formation potential （HFP） was taken into consideration. Results showed that NF90 performed similarly to ESPA1 with mean rejection higher than 95%. NF270 outperformed HL in terms of both water permeability and PhAC rejection higher than 90%. Electrostatic effects were more significant in PhAC rejection by loose NF membranes than tight NF and LPRO membranes. The adverse effect of adsorption on rejection by HL and ESPA1 was more substantial than NF270 and NF90, which could not be simply explained by the difference in membrane surface hydrophobicity, selective layer thickness or pore size. The HL membrane had a lower rejection of PhACs of higher hydrophobicity （log D〉0） and higher HFP （〉0.02）. Nevertheless, the effects of PhAC hydrophobicity and HFP on rejection by ESPA1 could not be discerned. Poor rejection of certain PhACs could generally be explained by aspects of steric hindrance, electrostatic interactions and adsorption. High-pressure membranes like NF90 and NF270 have a high promise in TrOC removal from contaminated water.

Preparation and Characterization of Tri-channel Hollow Fiber Nanofiltration Membrane

Improvement strength is beneficial to the popularization of hollow fiber nanofiltration(NF) membrane.The tri-channel hollow fiber NF membrane was prepared by interfacial polymerization(IP).The high strength tri-channel hollow fiber ultrafiltration(UF) membrane were used as the support membrane,m-phenylenedianline(m-PDA),and polyethylenimine(PEI) were used as aqueous phase monomer,and trimesoyl chloride(TMC) was used as organic phase monomer.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),scanning electron microscope(SEM),and gas sorption analyzer(GSA) were applied in structural analysis of NF membrane.Polymer FTIR illustrates the IP occurrence between aqueous phase monomer and organic phase monomer.The SEM images of NF membrane show the formation of a thin dense layer on surface of support membrane after IP.The flux(J) of optimal NF membrane is 11.2 L·m-2· h-1 at the 0.35 MPa operating pressure.Its retention(R) for NaCl,Na2SO4,MgCl2,Xylenol orange,and Neutral red is 17.4%,30.2%,16.1%,94.3%,and 51.0%,respectively.The NF membrane is on negative charge and its pore radius distributes between 0.3-2.0 nm.

LMP1 activates NF-κB via degradation of IκBα in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Abstract:Objective To elucidate the mechanisms by which Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein 1 activates NF-κB in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.Methods A tetracycline-regulated LMP1-expressing nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line, Tet-on-LMP1-HNE2, was used as the cell model. The kinetics of the expression of proteins, including LMP1, IκBα and IκBβ, was analyzed by Western blotting. The subcellular localization of NF-κB (p65) was detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay. The NF-κB transactivity was studied by transient transfection and reporter gene assay. Results IκBα was phosphorylated and degraded after the inducible expression of LMP1, although the total protein levels remained stable. The steady-state level of total IκBβ protein may have resulted from the initiation of an autoregulation loop after the activation of NF-κB. No change in the IκBβ level was detected. NF-κB (p65) was translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus following degradation of IκBα. After the introduction of the dominant-negative mutant of IκBα (Del 71) into Tet-on-LMP1-HNE2 cells, both nuclear translocation and transactivation of NF-κB induced by LMP1 was significantly inhibited. Conclusions The results indicated that in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, LMP1 activated NF-κB via phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα, but not IκBβ. The dominant-negative mutant of IκBα (Del 71) could completely inhibit both the nuclear translocation and transactivation of NF-κB induced by LMP1.

Multifunctional bioactive core-shell electrospun membrane capable to terminate inflammatory cycle and promote angiogenesis in diabetic wound

Diabetic wound(DW)healing is a major clinical challenge due to multifactorial complications leading to prolonged inflammation.Electrospun nanofibrous(NF)membranes,due to special structural features,are promising biomaterials capable to promote DW healing through the delivery of active agents in a controlled manner.Herein,we report a multifunctional composite NF membrane loaded with ZnO nanoparticles(NP)and oregano essential oil(OEO),employing a new loading strategy,capable to sustainedly co-deliver bioactive agents.Physicochemical characterization revealed the successful fabrication of loaded nanofibers with strong in vitro anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant activities.Furthermore,in vivo wound healing confirmed the potential of bioactive NF membranes in epithelialization and granulation tissue formation.The angiogenesis was greatly prompted by the bioactive NF membranes through expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF).Moreover,the proposed NF membrane successfully terminated the inflammatory cycle by downregulating the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin6(IL-6)and matrix metalloproteinases-9(MMP-9).In vitro and in vivo studies revealed the proposed NF membrane is a promising dressing material for the healing of DW.

Preparation and properties of hollow fibre nanofiltration membrane with continuous coffee-ring structure

Polyamide(PA)hollow fibre composite nanofiltration(NF)membranes with a coffee-ring structure and beneficial properties were prepared by adding graphene oxide(GO)into the interfacial polymerization process.The presentation of the coffee-ring structure was attributed to the heterogeneous,finely dispersed multiphase reaction system and the“coffee-stain”effect of the GO solution.When the piperazine concentration was 0.4 wt-%,the trimesoyl chloride concentration was 0.3 wt-%,and the GO concentration was 0.025 wt-%,the prepared NF membranes showed the best separation properties.The permeate flux was 76 L·m^(−2)·h^(−1),and the rejection rate for MgSO4 was 98.6%at 0.4 MPa.Scanning electron microscopy,atomic force microscopy,and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the chemical structure and morphology of the PA/GO NF membrane.The results showed that GO was successfully entrapped into the PA functional layer.Under neutral operating conditions,the PA/GO membrane showed typical negatively charged NF membrane separation characteristics,and the rejection rate decreased in the order of Na2SO_(4)>MgSO_(4)>MgCl_(2)>NaCl.The PA/GO NF membrane showed better antifouling performance than the PA membrane.

Removal of sulfamethoxazole by nanofiltration membrane

The retention of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) by nanofiltration (NF) membranes is strongly influenced by the pH value of the solution. The retention of SMZ reaches its peak value when the solution pH rises above its pKa2 value as the compound transforms into a negatively charged species. Charge repulsion is the main mechanism involved in SMZ removal by NF membranes. In this study, the removal of SMZ by NF membranes, as a function of solution chemistry, was examined at pH 8.9 to investigate the effect of solution conditions on charge repulsion. The results show that the retention of negatively charged SMZ is relatively independent of SMZ concentration, and an increase in the ionic strength of the solution causes a relatively small reduction in retention. A small effect of humic acid (HA) on SMZ retention was noticed at pH 8.9, which can be explained by a small but insignificant improvement in the zeta potential of the membrane caused by HA at high pH values. However, it was found that SMZ concentration in the feed decreased significantly in solutions containing tannic acid (TA). The Adams-Bohart model was applied to our experimental data and was found to be suitable for describing the initial part of the breakthrough curves. The adsorptive parameters of the membrane were determined.