Radiation-induced grafting of porous polymers for biological applications

EDUARDO E. SMOLKO; C.N. BRITOS; M.L. CARBAJAL; R. HIDALGO; S. SOTO ESPINOZA; F. QUIROGA; J.A. TRELLES; MARIANO GRASSELLI

Argentina

Simposio; 2009 Latin American Section of the American Nuclear Society (LAS/ANS) Symposium on “Integration of Nuclear Technologies in Latin America".; 2009

American Nuclear Society (LAS/ANS) - Asociacion Argentina de Tecnologia Nuclear (AATN)

Research on application of radiation processing to polymers is mainly focused by the National Atomic Commission (CNEA). The Agricultural and Industrial Applications Laboratory Unit operates at the Ezeiza Atomic Center since the end of 1980s.Since 1997 our groups are involved in applications of gamma radiation to obtain advanced polymeric materials.  This work is done by the implementation of different grafting techniques into polymers, potentially useful for biotechnological process.The main idea of our research is to add new functionalities to polymeric membranes currently used in filtration processes. The addition of specific ligands to the internal surface of these materials gives them the particular retention properties of selected substances. In this case, the goal is the use of these new materials for the recovery of specific proteins from biological liquors. In the following years new specific applications on biological science were added.In this way the following materials have been developed using Cobalt-60 radiation induced polymerization.   1. Polysulfone and polyethersulfone membranes with specific protein-adsorptive properties.   2. Polyethylene adsorptive membranes grafted by molecular imprinting.   3. Hydrogel supported onto sintherized HDPE for bacteria immobilization applied to bio-catalysis process.   4. Porous polymethacrylate solids for analytical separation processes   5. Hydrogels confined into macroporous membranes to develop an extracorporeal bioartificial liver.   6. Modified nanoporous track-etched membrane.