Modification of polyethersulfone membrane by grafting bovine serum albumin on the surface of polyethersulfone/poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) blended membrane

Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was modified by blending with a copolymer of acrylonitrile (AN) and acrylic acid (AA), followed by grafting bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto the surface of the membrane. The PES and PAN-AA blending membranes were prepared through spin coating coupled with a liquid–liquid phase separation technique. The Micro BCA™ protein assay, XPS and FTIR/ATR analysis confirmed that BSA was successfully grafted onto the surface of the membranes. The pre-activated carboxyl groups of the copolymer and the amino groups of the protein contributed to the formation of BSA-PES membrane conjugates. The water contact angle, protein adsorption and platelet adhesion were obviously decreased after grafting BSA onto the membrane surface, meanwhile the water flux of the membrane was significantly increased. All these results indicated that the hydrophilicity and blood compatibility of the modified PES membranes were improved.