Short-term adhesion and long-term biofouling testing of polydopamine and poly(ethylene glycol) surface modifications of membranes and feed spacers for biofouling control.

Ultrafiltration, nanofiltration membranes and feed spacers were hydrophilized with polydopamine and polydopamine-g-poly(ethylene glycol) surface coatings. The fouling propensity of modified and unmodified membranes was evaluated by short-term batch protein and bacterial adhesion tests. The fouling propensity of modified and unmodified membranes and spacers was evaluated by continuous biofouling experiments in a membrane fouling simulator.