Antifouling microfiltration membranes prepared from poly(vinylidene fluoride)‐graft‐Poly(N‐ vinyl pyrrolidone) powders synthesized via pre‐irradiation induced graft polymerization

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) powders were grafted with N‐vinyl pyrrolidone using the pre‐irradiation induced graft polymerization technique. The effects of reaction time, absorbed dose, and monomer concentration on the degree of grafting were investigated, and the grafted PVDF powders were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The grafted PVDF powders were also cast into microfiltration (MF) membranes via the phase‐inversion method. The contact angle and water uptake were measured. The membrane morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy, and the water filtration properties of the membranes were tested. The antifouling properties were determined through measurements of the recovery percentage of pure water flux after the MF membranes were fouled with bovine serum albumin solution. The results confirmed that the existence of poly(N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) graft chains improved the hydrophilicity and antifouling properties of the MF membranes cast from PVDF‐g‐PVP powders. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Effect of Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) on Antifouling Properties of Asymmetric Poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) Membranes

Poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (EVAL/PVP) blend membranes with antifouling properties were prepared by nonsolvent induced phase separation. Residual PVP in the sample was calculated by infrared spectroscopic data and confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. The effect of residual PVP on hydrophilicity and permeation characteristics of the membranes was evaluated. Porosity and equilibrium water content of the membranes were influenced by the addition of PVP. The effect of protein fouling on flux using bovine serum albumin as a model system was studied in detail. The residual PVP content could enhance the antifouling property of the membrane. All membranes proved to have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand pressure‐driven filtrations.     

Controlled degradation of polylactic acid grafting N‐vinyl pyrrolidone induced by gamma ray radiation

Polylactic acid (PLA) films were surface modified by gamma ray irradiation‐induced grafting of N‐vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP). The in vitro degradation behavior of polylactic acid grafting N‐vinyl pyrrolidone (PLA‐g‐PVP) copolymer was analyzed in terms of weight loss, molecular weight, and thermal properties. Grafting NVP significantly accelerated the degradation of PLA. The mass losses of the copolymers, which were less than that of pure PLA at the beginning of the degradation period, sharply accelerated with increasing degradation time. Moreover, the crystallization temperature decreased with increasing degradation time in the same graft ratio, and the degree of crystallinity increased. Cytotoxicity experiments and animal experiments in vivo were carried out to evaluate the biocompatibility of PLA‐g‐PVP copolymer. Varying graft ratios of PVP could control the degradation rate of copolymers, and thus broadening the applications of this material, such as in tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery, and prevention of postsurgical adhesion. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Surface modification of poly(ether sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes by low‐temperature plasma‐induced graft polymerization

Low‐temperature helium plasma treatment followed by grafting of N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NVP) onto poly(ether sulfone) (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes was used to modify commercial PES membranes. Helium plasma treatment alone and post‐NVP grafting substantially increased the surface hydrophilicity compared with the unmodified virgin PES membranes. The degree of modification was adjusted by plasma treatment time and polymerization conditions (temperature, NVP concentration, and graft density). The NVP‐grafted PES surfaces were characterized by Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. Plasma treatment roughened the membrane as measured by atomic‐force microscopy. Also, using a filtration protocol to simulate protein fouling and cleaning potential, the surface modified membranes were notably less susceptible to BSA fouling than the virgin PES membrane or a commercial low‐protein binding PES membrane. In addition, the modified membranes were easier to clean and required little caustic to recover permeation flux. The absolute and relative permeation flux values were quite similar for the plasma‐treated and NVP‐grafted membranes and notably higher than the virgin membrane. The main difference being the expected long‐term instability of the plasma treated as compared with the NVP‐grafted membranes. These results provide a foundation for using low‐temperature plasma‐induced grafting on PES with a variety of other molecules, including other hydrophilic monomers besides NVP, charged or hydrophobic molecules, binding domains, and biologically active molecules such as enzymes and ribozymes. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 1699–1711, 1999     

Preparation and antidehydration of interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels based on 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate and N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone

This work reports the preparation of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)/N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NVP) interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels by UV‐initiated polymerization in the presence of free radical photoinitiator Darocur 1173 and cationic photoinitiator 4,4′‐dimethyl diphenyl iodonium hexafluorophosphate. The polymerization mechanism was investigated by the formation of gel network. The structure and morphology of the HEMA/NVP IPN hydrogels were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the IPN gels exhibited homogeneous morphology. The dehydration rates of HEMA/NVP IPN hydrogels were examined by the gravimetric method. The results revealed that the hydrogels had a significant improvement of antidehydration ability in comparison with poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)(PHEMA) hydrogel embedded physically with poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone)(PVP). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Properties and pervaporation characteristics of chitosan–poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) blend membranes for MeOH–MTBE

Clear blends of chitosan with poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP) made from aqueous solutions appear to be miscible from visual appearance. Infrared (IR) spectra used to investigate the carbonyl—hydroxyl hydrogen bonding in the blends indicated compatibility of two polymers on a molecular level. The IR spectra were also used to determine the interaction change accessing with increasing temperature and indicated that a significant conformational change occurred. On the other hand, the blend membranes were evaluated for separation of methanol from methyl tert‐butyl ether. The influences of the membrane and the feed compositions were investigated. Methanol preferentially permeates through all the tested membranes, and the partial flux of methanol significantly increase with the poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) content increasing. The temperature dependence of pervaporation performance indicated that a significant conformational change occurred with increasing temperature. Combined with the IR results, the pervaporation properties are in agreement with characteristics of interaction between chain–chain within the blend membranes. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 1452–1458, 1999     

Release of salicylic acid through poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and poly(vinyl alcohol‐g‐N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) membranes

A controlled release profile of salicylic acid (SA) for transdermal administration has been developed. Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) blended preparations were used to prepare the membranes by solvent‐casting technique. The release of the drug from the membranes was evaluated at in vitro conditions. The effects of PVA/PVP (v/v) ratio, pH, SA concentration and temperature were investigated. 60/40 (v/v) PVA/PVP ratio was found to be the best ratio for the SA release. Increase in pH and temperature was observed to increase the transport of SA. Instead of blending PVA with PVP, N‐Vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (VP) was grafted onto the PVA and the delivery performance for SA was compared with that of the blended PVA/PVP membranes. Grafted membranes gave higher transport percentages than the blended membranes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:1244–1253, 2006     

Amphiphilic ABA‐type triblock copolymers for the development of high‐performance poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) blend ultrafiltration membranes for oil separation

ABA‐type amphiphilic triblock copolymers (TBCs) were synthesized by a reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process with a telechelic polystyrene macro‐RAFT agent and 4‐[n‐(acryloyloxy)alkyloxy]benzoic acid monomers. Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were fabricated by a phase‐inversion process with blends of the TBC, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) in dimethylformamide. The UF‐fabricated membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, water contact angle measurement, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Pure water permeation, molecular weight cutoff values obtained by the permeation of different molecular weight polymers as probe solutes, bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution permeate flux, and oil–water emulsion filtration tests were used to evaluate the separation characteristics of the fabricated membranes. The tripolymer blend membranes exhibited a higher flux recovery ratio (FRR) after the membrane was washed with sodium lauryl sulfate (0.05 wt %) solution for a BSA solution (FRR = 88%) and oil–water emulsion (FRR = 95%) feeds when than the PVDF–PVP blend membrane (57 and 80% FRR values for the BSA solution and oil–water emulsion, respectively). The pendant carboxylic acid functional moieties in this ABA‐type TBC have potential advantages in the fabrication of high‐performance membranes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45132.     

Triblock copolymers of methyl methacrylate/N‐vinyl pyrrolidone and their hydrophilication effects on poly(vinylidene fluoride) porous membranes

The new amphiphilic triblock copolymers of poly(N‐vinyl pyrrolidone‐b‐methyl methacrylate‐b‐N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) (P(VP‐b‐MMA‐b‐VP)) were synthesized via a reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization route. Using these copolymers as additives in casting solutions, the porous blend membranes of poly (vinylidene fluoride) and P(VP‐b‐MMA‐b‐VP) were prepared following a typical nonsolvent induced phase separation process. The influences of P(VP‐b‐MMA‐b‐VP) on the morphologies of the blend membranes were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The chemical compositions in membrane surface layers were measured by X‐ray photoelectron measurement. Water contact angle and water flux experiments were used to evaluate the hydrophilicity and permeation properties of the blend membranes. It was found that the P(VP‐b‐MMA‐b‐VP) copolymers could be retained in membrane stably in membrane formation and application process. The copolymers could enrich in surface layer and endowed the blend membrane with efficient hydrophilicity and higher water permeation flux. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Performances of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) ultrafiltration membranes modified with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)

The structure and performance of modified poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF‐co‐HFP) ultra‐filtration membranes prepared from casting solutions with different concentrations of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were investigated in this study. Membrane properties were studied in terms of membrane compaction, pure water flux (PWF), water content (WC), membrane hydraulic resistance ( R _m), protein rejection, molecular weight cut‐off (MWCO), average pore size, and porosity. PWF, WC, and thermal stability of the blend membranes increased whereas the crystalline nature and mechanical strength of the blend membranes decreased when PVP additive concentration was increased. The contact angle (CA) decreased as the PVP concentration increased in the casting solution, which indicates that the hydro‐philicity of the surface increased upon addition of PVP. The average pore size and porosity of the PVdF‐co‐HFP membrane increased to 42.82 Å and 25.12%, respectively, when 7.5 wt% PVP was blended in the casting solution. The MWCO increased from 20 to 45 kDa with an increase in PVP concentration from 0 to 7.5 wt%. The protein separation study revealed that the rejection increased as the protein molecular weight increased. The PVdF‐co‐HFP/PVP blended membrane prepared from a 7.5 wt% PVP solution had a maximum flux recovery ratio of 74.3%, which explains its better antifouling properties as compared to the neat PVdF‐co‐HFP membrane. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2482–2492, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Radiation synthesis and characterization of poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone/acrylic acid) and poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone/acrylamide) hydrogels for some metal‐ion separation

Two different hydrogels, prepared from N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone/acrylic acid (NVP/AAc) and N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone/acrylamide (NVP/AAm), were studied for the separation and extraction of some heavy‐metal ions from wastewater. The hydrogels were prepared by the γ‐radiation‐induced copolymerization of the aforementioned binary monomer mixtures. Further modification was carried out for the NVP/AAc copolymer through an alkaline treatment to improve the swelling behavior by the conversion of the carboxylic acid groups into its sodium salts. The thermal stability and swelling properties were also investigated as functions of the N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone content. The characterization and some selected properties of the prepared hydrogels were studied, and the possibility of their practical use in wastewater treatment for heavy metals such as Cu, Ni, Co, and Cr was investigated. The maximum uptake for a given metal was higher for a treated NVP/AAc hydrogel than for an untreated NVP/AAc hydrogel and was higher for an untreated NVP/AAc hydrogel than for an NVP/AAm hydrogel. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2642–2652, 2004     

Preparation and characterization of poly(L‐lactide) membranes prepared by γ‐radiation‐induced grafting of N‐vinyl pyrrolidone

A copolymer, poly(L ‐lactide)‐g‐poly(N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) (PLLA‐g‐PVP) was prepared with poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) and N‐vinyl pyrrolidone in the presence of methanol as a solvent by γ‐ray irradiation. The structure of PLLA‐g‐PVP was characterized by ¹H‐NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The PLLA‐g‐PVP graft ratio calculated by the percentage increase in weight increased with the increase of absorbed dose, and the percentage crystallinity of PLLA‐g‐PVP decreased with increasing graft ratio. The introduction of the poly(N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) chain into PLLA resulted in a decrease in the contact angle of PLLA‐g‐PVP with increasing graft ratio. In vitro degradation testing showed that PLLA‐g‐PVP had a higher degradation rate both in the weight‐loss test and molecular weight measurement because of a lower crystalline percentage and higher hydrophilicity compared to PLLA. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Viscometric studies of poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) in water and in water and 0.01% bovine serum albumin at 283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, and 313.15 K

Viscosity and density studies for 0.01–0.14% (w/w) poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP) in water and in water and 0.01% bovine serum albumin (BSA) were conducted at 283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, and 313.15 K. The viscosity coefficients and the activation‐energy, free‐energy, enthalpy, and entropy changes were calculated from viscosity data for viscous flow. On this basis, PVP–PVP, PVP–BSA, PVP–water, and BSA–water interactions and PVP and BSA shape factors were investigated and rationalized in terms of the water structure. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1001–1015, 2003     

Preparation of chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride)‐g‐poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone) membranes and their water permeation properties

Chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (CPVC) membranes for microfiltration processes were prepared with the combined process of a solvent evaporation technique and the water‐vapor induced‐phase‐inversion method. CPVC membranes with a mean pore size of 0.7 μm were very hydrophobic. These membranes were subjected to surface modification by ultraviolet (UV)‐assisted graft polymerization with N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone (NVP) to increase their surface wettability and decrease their adsorptive fouling. The grafting yields of the modified membranes were controlled by alteration of UV irradiation time and NVP monomer concentration. The changes in chemical structure between the CPVC membrane and the CPVC‐g‐poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone) membrane and the variation of the topologies of the modified PVC membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, the graft yield of the modified CPVC membrane reached a maximum at 5 min of UV exposure time and 20 vol % NVP concentration. The filtration behavior of these membranes was investigated with deionized water by a crossflow filtration measurement. The surface hydrophilicity and roughness were easily changed by the grafting of NVP on the surface of the CPVC membrane through a simultaneous irradiation grafting method by UV irradiation. To confirm the effect of grafting for filtration, we compared the unmodified and modified CPVC membranes with respect to their deionized water permeation by using crossflow filtration methods. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 3188–3195, 2003     

Surface grafting polymerization of N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone onto a poly(ethylene terephthalate) nonwoven by plasma pretreatment and its antibacterial activities

The objective of this research was the surface grafting polymerization of biocompatible monomer N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NVP) onto a plasma‐treated nonwoven poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate with ultraviolet (UV)‐induced methods. The effects of various parameters, such as the monomer concentration, reaction time, initiator (ammonium peroxodisulfate) concentration, and crosslinking agent (N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide) concentration, on the grafting percentage were studied. The grafting efficiency of the modified nonwoven PET surfaces reached a maximum at 50 min of UV irradiation and with a 30 wt % aqueous NVP solution. After the plasma activation and/or grafting, the hydrophobic surface of the nonwoven was modified into a hydrophilic surface. NVP was successfully grafted onto nonwoven PET surfaces. The surface wettability showed that the water absorption of NVP‐grafted nonwoven PET (NVP‐g‐nonwoven PET) increased with increasing grafting time. NVP‐g‐nonwoven PET was verified by Fourier transform infrared spectra and scanning electron microscopy measurements. An antibacterial assessment using an anti‐Staphylococcus aureus test indicated that S. aureus was restrained from growing in NVP‐g‐nonwoven PET. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 803–809, 2006     

Pervaporation properties of polypyrrolidinone‐based membranes for EtOH/ETBE mixtures separation

The separation of ethanol/ethyl‐tertiobutylether mixtures by pervaporation was studied with new membranes prepared from N‐vinyl‐pyrrolidinone (NVP) and N‐[3‐(trimethylamoniopropyl)]methacrylamidemethylsulfate) (TMA). The pervaporation results showed that highly EtOH selective membranes could be obtained from PVP blends and from pyrrolidinone‐based crosslinked copolymers. The influences of the polymer blend composition and the role of the polymer microstructures on the membrane properties were investigated. Whatever the exact NVP/TMA composition used, the membranes strongly favored the pervaporation of ethanol. The ethanol selectivity was higher for the lower PVP/TMA ratio. On the one hand, these results were ascribed to the high pyrrolidinone residues content, which is responsible of the enhanced EtOH sorption affinity. The observed permeation selectivity was in agreement with the swelling data also recorded with the different polymers, showing higher affinity for ethanol with PVP‐enriched materials compared with TMA ones. This is a direct consequence of the Lewis base feature of pyrrolidinone sites towards EtOH molecules. On the other hand, the TMA residues improved the overall stability and selectivity of the membranes thanks to crosslinking reactions, which were induced by thermal treatment. A close comparison made between polymer blend and copolymer pervaporation results helped to clarify the TMA role of the membrane transport properties. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99:3622–3630, 2006     

One‐pot synthesized poly(vinyl pyrrolidone‐co‐methyl methacrylate‐co‐acrylic acid) blended with poly(ether sulfone) to prepare blood‐compatible membranes

In this study, a random copolymer of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone‐co‐methyl methacrylate‐co‐acrylic acid) was synthesized via a one‐pot reaction with the reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer method and was then blended with poly(ether sulfone) (PES) to prepare flat‐sheet membranes that were expected to have anticoagulant and antifouling properties. The synthesized copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and NMR spectroscopy. The molecular weights and molecular weight distributions were determined by gel permeation chromatography. Elemental analysis was used to calculate the molar ratios of vinyl pyrrolidone (VP), methyl methacrylate (MMA), and acrylic acid (AA) in the copolymer. A liquid–liquid phase‐inversion technique was used to prepare the copolymer‐blended PES membranes. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance–FTIR spectroscopy were used to investigate the copolymer on the membrane surfaces. Compared with the pristine PES membrane, the modified PES membranes showed improved hydrophilicity, low hemolysis ratios, decreased protein adsorption, and suppressed platelet adhesion. Furthermore, the thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time indicated that the blood compatibility of the modified PES membranes were improved. The results of the 3‐(4,5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the cell morphology suggested that the cytocompatibility increased. In addition, the modified membranes showed good protein antifouling properties. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 4284–4298, 2013     

Novel biodegradable amphiphilic poly(ε‐caprolactone)/poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) blends via successive in situ polymerizations

In this study, biodegradable blends of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) were prepared by a new strategy in the following steps: (1) free radical polymerization of N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NVP) in ε‐caprolactone (CL); (2) ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone in the presence of PVP to obtain the target blends. The structure of the blends was confirmed by FTIR and ¹H NMR, and the molecular weight of PCL and PVP were determined by GPC. SEM study revealed that this polymerization method could decrease the disperse phase size and improve the interphase when compared with solution‐blending method. The phase inversion occurred when PVP content was 15–20 wt %. Subsequently, the PCL sphere dispersed in PVP matrix and its size decreased with the increase of PVP content. The contact angle results showed that PVP has a profound effect on hydrophilic properties of PCL/PVP blends. PCL/PVP blends are believed to be promising for drug delivery, cell therapy, and other biomedical applications. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Structure and Performance of Poly(vinylidene chloride‐co‐vinyl chloride) Porous Membranes with Different Additives

Poly(vinylidene chloride‐co‐vinyl chloride) (P(VDC‐co‐VC) membranes were prepared by non‐solvent‐induced phase separation and adjusted by adding water‐soluble polyethylene glycol (PEG) and water‐insoluble silicon dioxide (SiO₂) hydrophilic nanoparticles. The structure of pores and antifouling performance were investigated to illustrate the effect of these nanoparticles. The cross section of the P(VDC‐co‐VC) membrane exhibited more macropores and the typical finger‐like pores turned into more vertically interconnected ones with increasing PEG content, while the number and size of finger‐like pores became less with increasing SiO₂ content. Considering the filtration and antifouling experiments, the presence of hydrophilic PEG and SiO2 nanoparticles in the P(VDC‐co‐VC) polymer matrix improved the membrane performance in terms of high flux, high BSA rejection ratio, and fouling resistance.     

Intermolecular interactions between bovine serum albumin and certain water‐soluble polymers at various temperatures

Viscometric behaviors of dextran (Dx), poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP), and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solutions have been studied at 25, 30, and 35°C. The reduced viscosity and intrinsic viscosity have been experimentally measured for the polymer/water and polymer/BSA/water systems by classical Huggins equation. Measurements of reduced viscosities of the Dx, PVP, and PEO in water have been calculated and all intrinsic viscosities of PEO([η]_PEO) are larger than that of Dx([η]_Dx), and PVP([η]_PVP) in aqueous solutions, at all temperatures. The intrinsic viscosities of PVP, PEO, and Dx were found to be dependent on the concentration of BSA. The presence of BSA (0.05, 0.10, and 0.30 wt %) led to a decrease in the intrinsic viscosities of polymers, at 25, 30, and 35°C. The concentration difference of BSA (Δ[BSA]) is most effective in decreasing the intrinsic viscosities of Dx at 25°C and PEO at 30 and 35°C. In other words, Δ[η] (%) order followed as Dx > PEO > PVP at 25°C and PEO > Dx > PVP at 30 and 35°C. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 1554–1560, 2006