Posted by In this study, a composite nanofiber membrane (CNM) containing cross-linked β-cyclodextrin-epichlorohydrin (βCDP) was prepared by electrospinning the functionalized nanofibers onto an ultrafiltration membrane support.
The CNM membrane was evaluated for steroid hormone removal in both static adsorption and during filtration. A removal of 80 % was reached in static condition with a βCDP loading of 2.5 ng/cm2. During filtration, the hydraulic residence time, steroid hormone concentration and nanofiber matrix thickness limited steroid hormone removal and uptake. The highest removal of 76 % and uptake of 9.5 ng/cm2 were achieved with a nanofiber matrix thickness of 442 μm. Molecular dynamic simulation revealed that steroid hormone type affected the βCDP interaction and inclusion complex formation, the strongest interaction occurred with progesterone and the lowest with testosterone. This was consistent with experimental data.
Overall, the results are promising for the application of this functionalized membrane for steroid hormone removal due to the high adsorption capacity and the ability to form a specific inclusion complex interaction with the steroid hormone molecules.
Alessandra Imbrogno, Han Ya Lin, Babak Minofar, Andrea Iris Schäfer (2024) Nanofiber composite ultrafiltration membrane functionalized with cross-linked β-cyclodextrin for steroid hormone micropollutant removal. Journal of Membrane Science 691, 122212.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2023.122212