Preparation of polyethylene glycol macromer grafted membranes by UV irradiation method and their bovine serum albumin permeation characteristics

An anti-protein stained ultrafiltration membrane was prepared by grafting monoacrylate polyethylene glycol (PEG) macromer onto a polypropylene (PP) membrane with UV-irradiation methods. PEG-grafted membranes can decrease the fouling resulting from the protein filtration. Monoacrylate PEG is prepared by inducing the acrylate functional groups to the end of PEG chain. Degree of grafting increased with the monomer concentration and UV-irradiation time. The surface modified PP membrane prevented the protein from staining the membrane. The permeation flux of a non-modified PP membrane decreased, while those of other modified PP membranes did not decrease as such. Also, the permeation flux of bovine serum albumin(BSA) solution showed minimum values near the isoelectric point of pH 5.0 and increased apart from pH 5.0.