Recently, I purified a polymer nanoparticle in aqueous phase using ultra-filtration (60 psi). After the filtration process, a gel-liked layer was found on the filter membrane. Dose any one know what is that layer and why it formed? Also, is there any way to prevent that form formation?
This sounds like a type of fouling known as "cake formation", caused by aggregation of your nanoparticles on the membrane surface. This gel layer arises when the concentration at the surface due to concentration polarization (CP) reaches the solubility limit of the solute (your polymeric NP). See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafiltration#Membrane_fouling and Article The Role of Macromolecular Adsorption in Fouling of Ultrafil...
Edit: To add to this, things I might try: 1) reduce the concentration of nanoparticle solution you are running through the filter, and 2) maybe re-assess the solubility of your polymeric nanoparticle.
Gel like layer formation on the membrane may be due to unreacted solute, impurities in your colloidal solution, aggregation of nanopaticles, or cnoncentration polarization as Shwan Javdan said. The latter is due disparity or concentration difference at the membrane surface and in the bulk of the sol. Slight agitation may perturb the layer.
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