Designer porous antibacterial membranes derived from thermally induced phase separation of PS/PVME blends decorated with an electrospun nanofiber scaffold

Abstract

We report the development of porous membranes by thermally induced phase separation of a PS/PVME (polystyrene/polyvinyl[methyl ether]) blend, which is a typical LCST mixture. The morphology of the membrane after etching out the PVME phase was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. To give the membrane an antibacterial surface, polystyrene (PS) and poly[vinyl(methyl ether)]-alt-maleic anhydride (PVME-MAH) with silver nanoparticles (nAg) were electrospun on the membrane surface. Pure water flux was evaluated by using a cross-flow membrane setup. The microgrooved fibers changed the flux across the membrane depending on the surface properties. The antibacterial properties of the membrane were confirmed by the reduction in the colony count of E. coli. The SEM images show the disruption of the bacterial cell membrane and the antibacterial mechanism was discussed.