PROTEIN ADSORPTION CAPACITY OF A POROUS PHENYLALANINE-CONTAINING MEMBRANE BASED ON A POLYETHYLENE MATRIX

A porous hollow-fibre membrane containing L-phenylalanine as a pseudo-biospecific ligand has been prepared by radiation-induced grafting of glycidyl methacrylate onto polyethylene microfiltration hollow fibre, followed by coupling of the produced epoxide group with L-phenylalanine. The remaining epoxide group was hydrolysed into a diol group with sulphuric acid. The L-phenylalanine and the diol group acted in a complementary way as a pseudo-biospecific ligand and a hydrophilic group, respectively. The adsorption capacity of bovine gamma globulin on the resulting porous adsorbent could be determined by the specific surface area of the adsorbent when the ligand was in excess over the protein.