Novel and rapid activation of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes by UV light

Abstract

[EN] Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes have become essential because of their huge applicability to the industry; however, they still present some limitations. This study focuses on the modification of PVDF membrane properties such as hydrophobicity, wettability, and functionality. To obtain a stable grafting, the surface of the membrane is hydroxylated using UV light at 254¿nm, followed by covalent immobilization of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES). The physicochemical and morphological properties of modified and raw PVDF membranes were analyzed by spectroscopy, microscopy, and goniometry. Finally, nucleic acid microarray technology results showed that PVDF and PVDF-VTES membranes had probe immobilization densities of 5 and 11¿pmol/cm2 and hybridization limits of detection of 1 and 5¿nM, respectively.