Fabrication of electrospun polyacrylonitrile ion-exchange membranes for application in lysozym

Ion exchange (IEX) chromatography is commonly used in separation and purification systems. However, micropore blockage within its resin structure can easily lead to a reduction in the effectiveness of purification. To tackle this problem, we adopted the concept of membrane separation by combining electrospinning techniques with rapid alkaline hydrolysis to prepare a weak acid IEX nanofibrous membrane (AEA-COOH), consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) meltblown fabric as a supporting layer, with upper and lower IEX layers consisting of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibrous membranes. To determine the characteristics of the AEA-COOH membrane, we used the commercial product Sartobind® C IEX membrane as the standard of comparison. Results showed that the base weight and thickness of AEACOOH were 33 and 64%, relative to Sartobind® C membrane. The thermo-degradable temperature of AEA-COOH membrane (320°C) was far higher than that of Sartobind® C (115°C), indicating high thermal stability. Finally, comparisons between the lysozyme adsorption rates and capacity of various IEX membranes confirmed that AEA-COOH was lighter, thinner, faster, possessing higher protein adsorption efficiency than Sartobind® C membrane.