Quorum Quenching-Mediated Biofilm Mitigation on Functionalized Ultrafiltration Membranes via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Abstract

Quorum sensing (QS) critically affects biofilm formation during membrane filtration, which can be manipulated for membrane biofouling mitigation. This study demonstrates a quorum quenching strategy for combating membrane biofouling by functionalizing poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes via atom transfer radical polymerization of a QS inhibitor, vanillin. Poly(vanillin) brushes are successfully grafted on the membrane surface, which is …