This contribution describes the preparation and characterization of cellulose diacetate nitrate (CDNA) nanofibrous membranes for bovine serum albumin (BSA) purification. CDNA was synthesized by nitration of cellulose diacetate (CDA), using HNO3/CH2Cl2 as nitration agent. The chemical and morphological structures of CDNA were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Five solvents, that is, acetone, dimethylacetamide (DMAc), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), chloroform, and acetic acid were used to generate co-solvents for electrospinning CDNA. Long uniform CDNA nanofibers with an average diameter of 240 +/- 80 nm were electrospun from a 15 wt.% CDNA solution in DMSO/chloroforrn (2/1, v/v). The presence of nitrate groups on the surface of CDNA nanofiber membrane was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XI'S). The prepared CDNA-DMSO/chloroforrn nanofibers were applied to adsorbing BSA, and the maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity (from Langmuir isotherm data) for BSA was 30011 mg/g, which was higher than CDA nanofibers (18.63 mg/g). The membrane showed reusability after regeneration with elution buffer. In conclusion, he CDNA nanofibrous membrane is a promising material for protein purification. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.