Activated composite membranes containing the chiral carrier N-hexadecyl-L-hydroxyproline. Description of morphology and performance

Activated composite membranes (ACMs) containing the chiral carrier N-hexadecyl-L-hydroxyproline have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM membrane images have been further treated with the Intrepretació de Fotografies de Microscòpia Electrònica (IFME) program, and certain morphological properties of the ACM (such as mean internal pore size, internal irregularity, and internal asymmetry) were determined. In addition, ACMs have been tested for propranolol filtration, using a dead-end filtration membrane module working under 3.5 bar, and both the permeation rate and the enantioselectivity have been evaluated. Propranolol permeation through the three ACMs has been detected here; however, unfortunately, a clear enantioselective behavior has not been observed. The morphological structure of the ACM has been studied and related with their obtention procedure. Resulting data were finally compared with the results from other characterization techniques applied previously for such membranes. © 2005 American Chemical Society.