{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T01:48:16Z","timestamp":1783475296243,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,2]],"date-time":"2025-12-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764633600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"Membrane Applications Science and Technology (MAST) Center","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1841474"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1841474"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"Membrane Applications Science and Technology (MAST) Center","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2310832"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2310832"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Membranes"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Protein fouling can significantly reduce the filtrate flux, capacity, and virus retention during processing of plasma- or mammalian cell-derived biopharmaceuticals through virus removal filters. We use focused ion beam (FIB) milling and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to directly evaluate changes in 3D pore structure in a Viresolve\u00ae Pro membrane due to fouling by human serum immunoglobulin G. Protein fouling causes a significant reduction in the membrane porosity, which decreases by approximately 40% in the size-selective region near the exit of the highly asymmetric Viresolve\u00ae Pro membrane after the filter is fouled to 90% flux decline. There is a corresponding reduction in the number of small pores by more than a factor of two. Model simulations of flow and particle transport in the protein-fouled membrane are in good agreement with independent experimental measurements of the permeability and location of particle capture. Simulations show an upstream shift in the location of nanoparticle capture (away from the filter exit) by about 0.4 \u00b5m for the membrane fouled to 90% flux decline. This is due to pore constriction from protein deposition, highlighting how fouling redistributes flow paths within the membrane. These results demonstrate the capability of using FIB-SEM to directly evaluate the effects of protein fouling on the 3D pore structure in virus removal filters, providing important insights into how protein fouling alters the performance of these highly selective membranes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/membranes15120369","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T08:44:28Z","timestamp":1764751468000},"page":"369","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Quantitative Analysis of Protein Fouling in Virus Removal Filtration Membranes Through Electron Tomography"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Mohammad A.","family":"Afzal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaitlyn P.","family":"Brickey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8942-4480","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enrique D.","family":"Gomez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA"},{"name":"Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA"},{"name":"Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1865-9156","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew L.","family":"Zydney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Afzal, M.A., Peles, J., and Zydney, A.L. 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