Solution-blown nylon 6-chitosan core-shell nanofiber for highly efficient affinity adsorption

A facile spinning-based strategy was developed to fabricate chitosan (CS) surface nanofiber-based affinity membranes for protein adsorption. The core-shell nanofiber mat of nylon 6-CS was prepared via coaxial solution blowing process. The nanofibers have a diameter range of 60-300nm. The core-shell structure was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, and CS was observed as a thin layer that uniformly adhered to the core. The dye ligand of cibacron blue F3GA (CB F3GA) was further covalently immobilized on the nanofibers with a content of 425 mu mol/g. The pristine and CB F3GA-attached mats were studied in protein adsorption. High bovine serum albumin adsorption capacities of 91.9 and 219.6mg/g were obtained for pristine and CB F3GA-attached mats, respectively. Given its properties of high flux rate and low pressure drop, CB F3GA-attached nylon 6-CS nanofiber mat meets the requirements of highly effective affinity membrane chromatography. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.