Biocompatible MXene-reinforced molecularly imprinted membranes for simultaneous filtration and acetaminophen capture

In this study, the fabrication of biocompatible MXene-reinforced imprinted membranes (MX-AIM) capable of selectively capturing acetaminophen (APAP) molecules during filtration was demonstrated. The incorporation of MXene into a polymeric support membrane led to an overall improvement in both mechanical integrity and surface reactivity of the resulting composite, subsequently allowing efficient deposition of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) layer on its surface. The synergy between the high surface reactivities of MXenes and the MIP layer rendered more adsorption sites, leading to the capture of approximately 32 % APAP on MX-AIM from a 200 ppm drug feed solution, compared to only ∼2 % for directly imprinted membranes. Additionally, these MXene-modified membranes exhibited high cell viabilities when tested against human monocytic cells, reaching up to >190 % cell proliferation. Overall, this research offers important insights on incorporating MXene nanofillers into membrane production, with the potential to overcome the challenges associated with applying the molecular imprinting technique to enhance the functionality of polymer materials.