Measurement of diffusional parameters in membranes using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

Summary The use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for the assessment of synthetic and biological membrane permeability is described. Measurement of the diffusion coefficient of acetonitrile in a polydimethylsiloxane membrane showed the method to be of reasonable reproducibility. It has been demonstrated that the concurrent measurement of both solvent and solute permeability is feasible and that the deconvolution of the diffusion and partition coefficients of these species is theoretically possible. Where the diffusing species changed the nature of the membrane a correcting normalization routine was performed by assessing the state of the membrane as a function of time. The use of this method for the routine investigation of membrane permeation phenomena has great potential for the future.