Disinfection of a polyamide nanofiltration membrane using ethanol

TY - JOUR

T1 - Disinfection of a polyamide nanofiltration membrane using ethanol

AU - Heffernan, R.

AU - Semião, A. J.C.

AU - Desmond, P.

AU - Cao, H.

AU - Safari, A.

AU - Habimana, O.

AU - Casey, E.

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) , Project 278530 , funded under the EU Framework Programme 7 and also with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland under Grant no. SFI 11/RFP.1/ENM/3145 . The authors would like to thank Dr. Dennis Dowling and the Surface Engineering research group at UCD, and Prof. Suzi Jarvis and the Nanoscale Function Group at UCD. We thank Mr. Pat O'Halloran for his invaluable technical assistance, and Mr. Liam Morris for the construction of the MFS devices.

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - It is imperative that nanofiltration membranes are disinfected before they are used for laboratory-scale bacterial adhesion or biofouling experiments, yet currently no suitable disinfection protocol exists. This study aimed to determine if an ethanol treatment at a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) could be used to effectively disinfect nanofiltration membranes without altering membrane properties which could affect research. Two strains of bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus sp., were exposed to a range of ethanol concentrations to determine the MIC required for a 4log10 reduction in bacteria. In parallel, ethanol's effects on the filtration, surface and mechanical properties of a Dow Filmtec NF90 membrane were analysed. A 1.5h treatment with 40% ethanol was shown to effectively disinfect the membrane without significantly affecting any of the membrane's properties tested. This treatment protocol can now be safely used to disinfect the studied membrane prior to bacterial adhesion or biofouling experiments. This study also acts as a guideline for researchers using other membranes to determine a suitable disinfection protocol for their needs.

AB - It is imperative that nanofiltration membranes are disinfected before they are used for laboratory-scale bacterial adhesion or biofouling experiments, yet currently no suitable disinfection protocol exists. This study aimed to determine if an ethanol treatment at a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) could be used to effectively disinfect nanofiltration membranes without altering membrane properties which could affect research. Two strains of bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus sp., were exposed to a range of ethanol concentrations to determine the MIC required for a 4log10 reduction in bacteria. In parallel, ethanol's effects on the filtration, surface and mechanical properties of a Dow Filmtec NF90 membrane were analysed. A 1.5h treatment with 40% ethanol was shown to effectively disinfect the membrane without significantly affecting any of the membrane's properties tested. This treatment protocol can now be safely used to disinfect the studied membrane prior to bacterial adhesion or biofouling experiments. This study also acts as a guideline for researchers using other membranes to determine a suitable disinfection protocol for their needs.

KW - Disinfection

KW - Ethanol

KW - MIC

KW - Nanofiltration

KW - Pre-treatment

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84883442647&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.07.069

DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2013.07.069

M3 - 文章

AN - SCOPUS:84883442647

SN - 0376-7388

VL - 448

SP - 170

EP - 179

JO - Journal of Membrane Science

JF - Journal of Membrane Science

ER -