GOALI: Application of an Innovative Anti-Biofilm Technology for Overcoming Biofouling on Water Purification Membranes

1264690康奈尔·尼托该项目涉及北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校和雅居乐科学公司之间的跨学科大学-行业合作伙伴关系，目标是：(1)开发具有增强的抗生物污染性能的创新反渗透(RO)/纳滤(NF)膜，以及(B)建立对在RO/NF膜结构中定向加入小分子如何影响其物理化学性质和性能的基本了解。所提出的膜的抗生物污染行为是基于2-氨基咪唑(2AI)被掺入到反渗透/纳滤膜的聚酰胺活性层结构中。2AI分子是唯一已被证明能抑制多种细菌的生物膜形成，并在附着在表面时保持其抗生物污染性能的无毒小分子有机分子。2AI分子将被掺入整个膜活性层(整体掺入)和仅在表面(表面掺入)。一旦2AI分子被加入到聚酰胺活性层中，掺入的程度和位置将被系统地改变，以建立一个基本的理解，即在活性层中靶向掺入2AI小分子如何影响活性层的物理化学性质和膜性能。有了这一认识，PI将优化膜的抗生物污染活性、污染/结垢行为、水通量和盐分截留率。优化过程将使用一系列筛选性能测试，以评估静态条件下的生物膜抑制、膜过滤过程中加速生物污染条件下的抗生物污染活性、连续污染-清洗循环中的抗生物污染活性的保存，以及有机和胶体污染和结垢行为。测试将使用错流膜系统、细菌溶液和处理厂提供的天然水。在这个项目中，PI计划开发第一个非生物杀伤性生物膜抑制膜，这种膜能积极干扰触发生物膜形成的细菌信号机制。更广泛的影响。基于2AI分子的抗生物污染水滤膜的开发将有助于建立这一新的化学作为实现抗生物污染行为的可行途径。这一发展将使所有抗生物污垢表面重要的领域受益(例如，医疗植入物、燃料电池、食品加工等)。对膜的小分子改性对膜的物理化学性质和性能的影响的基本了解将为膜开发人员加快开发和优化周期提供有价值的信息。与教堂山高中、环境研究所(北卡罗来纳州教堂山)和历史上的黑人大学伊丽莎白城州立大学(北卡罗来纳州)合作开展的教育和外联活动将促进和扩大妇女和少数族裔学生对工程和科学的参与，并编制与水有关的教材，向更广泛的教育界传播。PI还计划传播有关基于飞行时间二次离子质谱仪(TOF-SIMS)、卢瑟福背散射光谱(RBS)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)的程序的信息，这些方法在研究反渗透/纳滤膜有源层的结构和性能方面是有用的方法。

1264690 Coronell NietoThis project involves an interdisciplinary university-industry partnership between UNC-Chapel Hill and Agile Sciences, Inc. with the objective of: (1) developing innovative reverse osmosis (RO)/nanofiltration (NF) membranes with enhanced anti-biofouling properties, and (b) building a fundamental understanding of how targeted incorporation of small molecules in the structure of RO/NF membranes affects their physico-chemical properties and performance. The anti-biofouling behavior of the proposed membranes is based on the incorporation of 2-aminoimidazole (2AI) into the structure of the polyamide active layer of RO/NF membranes. 2AI molecules are the only small non-toxic organic molecules that have been shown to inhibit biofilm formation for a wide range of bacteria, and to retain their anti-biofouling properties when attached to a surface. The 2AI molecules will be incorporated both throughout the entire membrane active layer (bulk incorporation) and only at the surface (surface incorporation). Once the 2AI molecules are incorporated into the polyamide active layer, the extent and location of incorporation will be varied systematically to build a fundamental understanding of how targeted incorporation of 2AI small molecules in active layers affects the active layer physico-chemical properties and membrane performance. Equipped with this understanding, the PIs will optimize membranes for anti-biofouling activity, fouling/scaling behavior, water flux and salt rejection. The optimization process will use a series of screening performance tests that will evaluate biofilm inhibition in static conditions, anti-biofouling activity under accelerated biofouling conditions during membrane filtration, conservation of anti-biofouling activity upon successive fouling-cleaning cycles, and organic and colloidal fouling and scaling behavior. The tests will use cross-flow membrane systems, bacterial solutions and natural waters provided by treatment plants. In this project the PIs plan to develop the first non-biocidal biofilm-inhibiting membranes that actively interfere with bacterial signaling mechanisms that trigger biofilm formation. Broader impacts. The development of anti-biofouling water filtration membranes based on 2AI molecules will help establish this new chemistry as a viable approach to achieve anti-biofouling behavior. This development will benefit all fields where antibiofouling surfaces are important (e.g., medical implants, fuel cells, food processing, etc.). The fundamental understanding of the effects that membrane modification with small molecules has on membrane physico-chemical properties and performance will serve as valuable information for membrane developers to accelerate development and optimization cycles. The educational and outreach activities in collaboration with the Chapel Hill High School, Institute for the Environment (Chapel Hill, NC), and Elizabeth City State University (NC), a historically black university, will foster and broaden the participation of women and minority students in engineering and sciences and produce water-related educational materials for dissemination to the broader education community. The PI also plans to disseminate information regarding procedures based on time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as useful methods in the study of the structure and properties of RO/NF membrane active layers.