Development of antibacterial polyacrylonitrile membrane modified with a covalently immobilized lysozyme

Abstract

A novel antibacterial polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane covalently immobilized with lysozyme was prepared. First, the virginal PAN membranes were prepared via the classic immersion precipitation method. After modification with NaOH, HCl, ethylenediamine (EDA), the lysozyme was covalently immobilized onto the surface of the PAN membranes by glutaraldehyde. The chemical compositions of virginal and modified membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Energy Dispersion X-ray (EDX). The morphology and performance of the immobilized membranes were characterized by Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), filtration performance measurements, the amount of bonded lysozyme, lysozyme activity measurement and flow cytometry method. The antibacterial tests confirmed that the immobilized lysozyme membrane displayed an excellent antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).