CTS - 9629458 Eli Ruckenstein SUNY Buffalo Abstract The project will focus on using chitosan to develop microporous membranes for affinity separations. Compared to currently available membranes based on nylon or cellulose, the proposed membranes have the advantage of containing numerous hydrophilic sites (OH, NH2). Preliminary experiments show high adsorption capacities for human serum albumin but poor mechanical properties. The objectives of the project are to improve the mechanical properties by preparing composite membranes based on chitosan, to increase the adsorption capacity by introducing metal-chelating groups via molecular imprinting, and to improve the permeability by controlling pore size The project may lead to the development of superactive membranes useful for protein separations in biotechnology.
