Preparation of Homogeneous Regenerated Cellulose Nanofiber based Membrane Adsorber for Membrane Chromatography Applications

Herein, electrospun regenerated cellulose (RC) nanofibers were fabricated for membrane chromatography applications. A cellulose acetate (CA) nanofiber membrane was prepared using a solvent mixture of N,N- dimethylacetamide and acetone, and glycerol was used to enhance the spin ability of CA, followed by alkaline treatment to obtain the RC nanofiber membrane. Glycerol addition enabled the electrospinning of CA nanofibers at lower concentrations, ensuring uniform nanofiber production and overcoming the limitations of bead formation or electrospraying at low CA concentrations during electrospinning. This study revealed that the compositions of glycerol and CA affect the pore size and fiber diameter of RC nanofiber membranes. To evaluate the practicality of RC nanofiber membranes for membrane chromatography, their binding capacity for bovine serum albumin was examined after grafting anion exchange ligands (3-(methacryloylamino)propyl-trimethylammonium chloride). The nanofiber membrane fabricated using 25 wt.% CA and 10 wt.% glycerol exhibited a superior static binding capacity of 230.9 mg/mL and a dynamic binding capacity of 112.1 mg/mL for bovine serum albumin. These findings indicated that the RC nanofiber–based membrane adsorber has potential applications in various separation and purification processes including adsorption, filtration, and membrane chromatography.