EAGER: Enhanced Performance Membranes by Scalable High Throughput Modification

这种急切的Grant应用涉及一种截然不同的膜合成和测试方法，应用了新的专业知识(高通量平台(HTP)光诱导接枝聚合(PGP)改性方法(HTP-PGP)方法，具有表面搅拌和蛋白质筛分测量)，并采用了新的跨学科视角(结合了聚合物化学和流体力学知识)。在过去的35年里，由于工作量、费用和时间的原因，很少有聚合物被用于膜过滤生产。发展了一种新的、快速、高效和可重复的高通量平台(HTP)光诱导接枝聚合(HTP-PGP)修饰方法(HTP-PGP方法)，该方法可以从66个功能化表面中合成和选择最耐蛋白质污染的聚合物用于膜分离。然而，这种新的HTP-PGP方法并不容易扩展，需要包括混合和蛋白质筛选，才能真正有用和高度可信地进行预测。快速、高效、重复性好的HTP-PGP方法为材料科学和膜技术的高通量合成、筛选和选择做出了重大贡献。HTP-PGP选择了以前报道的蛋白质抗性表面化学物质，发现了几种新的单体，并给出了可重复性的结果。然而，要使HTP-PGP真正对基础研究有用并可用于工业应用，它还应该包括交叉流动，并随时间跟踪渗透体积和溶质(筛分)通量。在这项研究中，将对HTP-PGP进行改造，使其能够在可伸缩的条件下从数百个功能化表面中评估和选择最好的聚合物；并分析接枝机理，以了解未来膜分离表面的设计。根据过去17年膜表面改性的研究成果，以HTP-PGP方法为跳板，提出了96孔滤池格式研究的两个具体目标：1.在96口井内实现并模拟横流(混合)。2.使用相同横流的定期体积和溶质通量测量来测试、筛选和放大使用单一蛋白过滤和1种相关生物技术饲料(大肠杆菌肉汤)的最佳接枝聚合膜。这项拟议的研究解决了生物技术、食品、饮料、饮用水净化、废水处理和生物燃料行业对新型低生物污染合成膜的迫切需求。与个性化医疗一样，针对不同应用的特化膜可以提高效率，降低成本和能源需求。这项工作将通过提供以前未经测试的低污染的新型膜材料来促进发现，并将为膜制造商和用户提供一种可扩展的HTP-PGP方法。这项研究将通过阐明耐污染膜的主要要求来促进对机理的理解。这项研究的结果将通过减少生物处理过程中合成膜的蛋白质/肽污染(已知会导致性能大幅下降，有时接近80%)来减少生化过程的能源消耗，从而降低操作压力，从而使社会受益。该项目将通过伦斯勒本科生研究计划让本科理工科专业的学生参与，并通过Questar计划让高中高年级学生参与，从而促进培训和学习。将再次招收女性和少数族裔学生，以扩大代表不足群体的参与，让学生接触现代高通量技术、组合化学、界面科学、分析化学和生物加工。

This EAGER Grant application involves a radically different approach to membrane synthesis and testing, applies new expertise (high throughput platform (HTP) modification method with photo-induced graft polymerization (PGP) (HTP-PGP) method with surface agitation and measurement of protein sieving), and engages novel interdisciplinary perspectives (combines knowledge of polymer chemistry and fluid mechanics). Few polymers have been used for membrane filtration production over the past 35 years, because of effort, expense and time. A novel, fast, efficient and reproducible high throughput platform (HTP) modification method with photo-induced graft polymerization (PGP) (HTP-PGP method) that allowed synthesis and selection of the most protein fouling-resistant polymer from 66 functionalized surfaces for membrane separations has been developed. However, this new HTP-PGP method is not easily scalable and needs to include mixing and protein sieving to be really useful and predictable with high confidence. The fast, efficient and reproducible HTP-PGP method is a major contribution to the high throughput synthesis, screening and selection for material science and membrane technology. HTP-PGP selected previously reported protein-resistant surface chemistries, discovered several new monomers and gave reproducible results. However, for the HTP-PGP to be truly useful for fundamental studies and scalable for industrial applications, it should also include cross-flow with time-dependent tracking of permeation volume and solute (sieving) flux. In this research, HTP-PGP will be transformed so that it can evaluate and select the best polymers from many 100s of functionalized surfaces under scalable conditions; and analyze the mechanism of grafting to gain understanding for future design of surfaces for membrane separations. With previous results over the past 17 years with membrane surface modification and the HTP-PGP method as a springboard, the following two specific aims for the research with the 96 filter-well format are proposed: 1. To implement and model crossflow (mixing) within each of the 96-wells. 2. To employ periodic measurements of volume and solute flux with the same crossflow to test, screen and scale-up the best performing graft polymerized membranes using single-protein filtration and 1 relevant biotechnology feed (E. coli broth). The proposed study addresses a pressing need in the biotechnology, food, beverage, drinking water purification, wastewater treatment and bio-fuel industries for new low bio-fouling synthetic membranes. Like personalized medicine, particularized membranes for different applications can improve efficiency, and reduce costs and energy requirements. The work will promote discovery by offering previously untested novel membrane materials that exhibit low fouling, and will present a scalable HTP-PGP method for membrane manufacturers and users. The research will advance mechanistic understanding by elucidating the major requirements for a fouling resistant membrane. Results of this research will benefit society by reducing energy consumption of biochemical processes by lowering protein/peptide fouling of synthetic membranes during bioprocessing (known to cause substantial drops in performance, sometimes approaching 80%) and hence lowering operating pressures. The project will promote training and learning by involving undergraduate science and engineering majors through the Rensselaer Undergraduate Research Program and by involving high school seniors through the Questar program. Female and minority students will again be recruited to broaden participation of underrepresented groups, exposing students to modern high throughput technology, combinatorial chemistry, interfacial science, analytical chemistry and bioprocessing.