Enhancement of permeability and antibiofouling properties of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane through incorporation of quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) compound

Abstract

The increasing incidence of accumulation of microorganisms on polymeric membrane surfaces has motivated the present study to develop novel biofouling resistant membranes. Hydrophilic and quorum sensing inhibition properties of vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) have propelled the current investigation of employing it as a modifier for the fabrication of fouling resistant polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. The concentration of vanillin varied from 0.5 to 2 wt. % and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was used as solvent. ATR-FTIR and thermogravimetry analysis showed that vanillin had a good compatibility with the PES membrane. The contact angle value of the neat PES membrane was 74.3° and it decreased up to 61.5° for 2 wt. % vanillin incorporated PES membrane. Moreover, the water flux also significantly improved up to 27.41 × 10−6 L/m2 s kPa. Antifouling propensity of the prepared membranes was evaluated by protein static adsorption and filtration of alginic acid solution. Among the membranes, PES (98 wt. %)/vanillin (2 wt. %) membrane exhibited the lowest flux reduction ratio of 26%. In addition, antibiofouling property of the membranes was assessed by disk diffusion assay technique and it showed that PES (98 wt. %)/vanillin (2 wt. %) membrane displayed the higher inhibition zone value of 3.10 ± 0.21 mm and 2.60 ± 0.18 mm for E. coli and P. aeruginosa respectively.