Synergistic effects of Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes: enhanced separation, antibacterial, and antioxidant performance

Synergistic effects of Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes: enhanced separation, antibacterial, and antioxidant performance | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Synergistic effects of Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes: enhanced separation, antibacterial, and antioxidant performance Junhong Guo, Yongcong Yang, Xingyu Gao, Tianjing Zhao, Xuemei Bao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9139082/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Curcumin-modified silver nanoparticles (Cur-AgNPs) were synthesized through a green approach and incorporated into a polysulfone (PSF) matrix to fabricate Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes ( ( MMMs ) . Subsequently, their separation, antibacterial, antibiofouling, and antioxidant characteristics were examined. The research findings demonstrated that during the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS), the hydrophilic ligand (AgNPs) of the Cur-AgNPs amphiphilic additives segregated towards the polymer/water interface, while the hydrophobic portion (Cur) was firmly anchored within the polymer matrix, leading to partial surface enrichment. The obtained Cur-AgNPs/PSF MMMs displayed uniform dispersion along with surface enrichment. Compared with the pristine PSF membrane, the Cur-AgNPs/PSF membrane demonstrated superior performance, with the pure water permeability attaining 328.9 L·m -2 ·h -1 ·bar -1 and the BSA rejection rate rising to 91.23%. The membranes also manifested favorable antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) . After fouling by S. aureus and E. coli , the flux recovery ratio reached 70% - 80%, which was notably higher than that of the PSF membrane. Additionally, the Cur-AgNPs/PSF MMM displayed excellent free radical scavenging capacity. The incorporation of the amphiphilic Cur-AgNPs effectively enhanced the separation performance and antibiofouling property of PSF membranes. Polysulfone membrane amphiphilic Mixed matrix membrane Antibiofouling Antibacterial activity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 06 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 31 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 30 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 16 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9139082","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610129219,"identity":"5b0fdcd3-487c-4c8f-af74-53d174207ef9","order_by":0,"name":"Junhong Guo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lanzhou University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junhong","middleName":"","lastName":"Guo","suffix":""},{"id":610129220,"identity":"78b1037a-27af-4243-a614-9ae7f0b122d1","order_by":1,"name":"Yongcong Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lanzhou University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yongcong","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":610129221,"identity":"75ff747f-659d-439d-8c00-1a80c5080dc2","order_by":2,"name":"Xingyu Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lanzhou University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xingyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":610129222,"identity":"42e462e1-4136-4246-a29a-09a3df073527","order_by":3,"name":"Tianjing Zhao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Lanzhou University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tianjing","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhao","suffix":""},{"id":610129223,"identity":"d7385625-4ca5-4b64-95fe-a841997634bb","order_by":4,"name":"Xuemei Bao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAArUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAzBZYQGmJEjQckaCgYc0LYxtpGgxZz98TOrmPInE/QzMB2/zMNjlEdRi2ZOWbJy7TSKxh4Et2ZqHIbmYsMMO5Bg+hmjhMZPmYTiQ2EBQy/k3Bodz54C08H8jUssNkC0NYFvYiNNiOeNZsnHOMQnjnsNsxpZzDJIJazHnTz4mnVNjI9ve3vzwxpsKO8JaEIAZ7E7i1Y+CUTAKRsEowAMAumo0j/ES5yYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Lanzhou University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuemei","middleName":"","lastName":"Bao","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-16 14:26:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9139082/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9139082/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Synergistic effects of Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes: enhanced separation, antibacterial, and antioxidant performance","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-inorganic-and-organometallic-polymers-and-materials","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"joip","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials](https://www.springer.com/journal/10904)","snPcode":"10904","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10904/3","title":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Polysulfone membrane, amphiphilic, Mixed matrix membrane, Antibiofouling, Antibacterial activity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9139082/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9139082/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCurcumin-modified silver nanoparticles (Cur-AgNPs) were synthesized through a green approach and incorporated into a polysulfone (PSF) matrix to fabricate Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes (\u003cstrong\u003e(\u003c/strong\u003eMMMs\u003cstrong\u003e)\u003c/strong\u003e. Subsequently, their separation, antibacterial, antibiofouling, and antioxidant characteristics were examined. The research findings demonstrated that during the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS), the hydrophilic ligand (AgNPs) of the Cur-AgNPs amphiphilic additives segregated towards the polymer/water interface, while the hydrophobic portion (Cur) was firmly anchored within the polymer matrix, leading to partial surface enrichment. The obtained Cur-AgNPs/PSF MMMs displayed uniform dispersion along with surface enrichment. Compared with the pristine PSF membrane, the Cur-AgNPs/PSF membrane demonstrated superior performance, with the pure water permeability attaining 328.9 L·m\u003csup\u003e-2\u003c/sup\u003e·h\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e·bar\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e and the BSA rejection rate rising to 91.23%. The membranes also manifested favorable antibacterial activity against \u003cem\u003eStaphylococcus aureus\u003c/em\u003e (\u003cem\u003eS. aureus\u003c/em\u003e) and \u003cem\u003eEscherichia coli (E. coli)\u003c/em\u003e. After fouling by \u003cem\u003eS. aureus \u003c/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e, the flux recovery ratio reached 70% - 80%, which was notably higher than that of the PSF membrane. Additionally, the Cur-AgNPs/PSF MMM displayed excellent free radical scavenging capacity. The incorporation of the amphiphilic Cur-AgNPs effectively enhanced the separation performance and antibiofouling property of PSF membranes.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Synergistic effects of Cur-AgNPs/PSF mixed matrix membranes: enhanced separation, antibacterial, and antioxidant performance","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-24 14:58:37","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9139082/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-04-07T01:06:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-31T14:36:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-30T08:46:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"288931003148624639412968172426741882431","date":"2026-03-22T12:32:54+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"166415423220306609913641877087152901927","date":"2026-03-22T10:59:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"285000102410528361158801265782028590264","date":"2026-03-22T06:50:17+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"250776746074199061492768409314556107791","date":"2026-03-20T11:38:02+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-20T06:47:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-17T14:42:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-17T07:34:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials","date":"2026-03-16T14:07:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-inorganic-and-organometallic-polymers-and-materials","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"joip","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials](https://www.springer.com/journal/10904)","snPcode":"10904","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10904/3","title":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"64308fcc-644a-4e45-9a8c-acbca1a4c200","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 24th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-27T05:53:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-24 14:58:37","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9139082","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9139082","identity":"rs-9139082","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}