Polylactic acid-glycolic acid nanofiber membrane capable of efficiently capturing nano/micron particles

The incidence of many diseases is closely related to air pollution. Suspended particulate matter of different sizes represents a major source of environmental pollution. Fine particles, especially ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 mu m, might be more harmful to human health because of their extremely small size, which enables them to penetrate human lungs and bronchi and makes them difficult to filter out. Therefore, the fatal risks associated with PM call for the development of air purification materials with high efficiency and low resistance. In this study, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and polycaprolactone were used to prepare nanofibrous membranes suitable for the efficient capture of particulate matter formed in haze-fog episodes, especially particles smaller than 0.5 mu m. The present nanofibrous membranes exhibit superior filtration efficiency for particulate matter, with a much lower pressure drop compared to typical commercial microfiber air filters. Thanks to the combination of small pore size, high porosity, and robust mechanical properties, the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/polycaprolactone (6:4) composite membrane exhibits a high filtration efficiency of 97.81% and a low pressure drop of 181 Pa. These favorable features, combined with the easy availability and biocompatibility of the component materials, highlight the promising potential of the present nanofibrous membranes for the development of personal wearable air purifiers.

许多疾病的发生与空气污染密切相关。不同大小的悬浮颗粒物是环境污染的主要来源。尤其是小于2.5微米的超细颗粒，由于其极小的尺寸，这使它们可以进入人的肺部和支气管并且很难滤出，这些小颗粒可能对身体有害。由于与PM相关的致命风险，我们必须开发具有高效率和低阻力的空气净化材料。在这项研究中，聚乳酸-乙醇酸共聚物和聚己内酯被用于制备纳米纤维膜，该膜适用于有效捕获雾霾事件中形成的颗粒物，尤其是小于0.5微米的颗粒物。与典型的商业超细纤维空气过滤器相比，本次发明的纳米纤维膜对颗粒物过滤更加优异。由于小孔径，高孔隙率和强大的机械性能的结合，聚乳酸-乙醇酸/聚己内酯（6：4）复合膜表现出97.81％的高过滤效率和低的压降 （181 Pa）。这些有利的特征，再加上组成材料的易得性和生物相容性，凸显了本纳米纤维膜在开发个人可穿戴空气净化器方面的潜力。

Published: 2018

Journal ：Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology

Impact Factor：3.272

Paper link:

https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/asp/jbn/2018/00000014/00000001/art00013