Preparation, Characterization, and In Vitro Hemocompatibility of Glutaraldehyde-Crosslinked Chitosan/Carboxymethylcellulose as Hemodialysis Membrane

This study aims to examine the manufacture, characterization, and in vitro hemocompatibility of glutaraldehyde-crosslinked chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose (CS/CMC-GA) as a hemodialysis membrane. The CS/CMC-GA membrane was prepared using the phase inversion method with 1.5% CS and 0.1% CMC. The chitosan was crosslinked with glutaraldehyde in various monomers ratios, and the membranes formed were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and TGA. Furthermore, the hydrophilicity, swelling, porosity, mechanical strength, and dialysis performance of the membranes against urea and creatinine were systematically examined, and their in-vitro hemocompatibility tests were also conducted. The results showed that the CS/CMC-GA membranes have higher hydrophilicity, swelling, porosity, mechanical strength, and better dialysis performance against urea and creatinine than chitosan without modification. In addition, the hemocompatibility test indicated that the CS/CMC-GA membranes have lower values of protein adsorption, thrombocyte attachment, hemolysis ratio, and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) than that of pristine chitosan. Based on these results, the CC/CMC-GA membranes have better hemocompatibility and the potential to be used as hemodialysis membranes.

Polysulfone hemodialysis membrane incorporated with Fe2O3 for enhanced removal of middle molecular weight uremic toxin

Removing middle molecular weight uremic toxin remains as one of the most challenging tasks in hemodialysis. Hence, in this study a high performance polysulfone (PSf) hemodialysis membrane was developed by incorporating iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles. The PSf/Fe2O3 hemodialysis membrane and pristine PSf membrane were prepared via dry-wet spinning process. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle, average pore size, and porosity measurements. The biocompatibility profiles of the membranes were also evaluated in terms of protein adsorption and blood coagulation time. Next, the performance of the membranes was determined by measuring pure water permeability (PWP), bovine serum albumin rejection, and removal of various solutes such as urea and lysozyme. The incorporation of Fe2O3 resulted in significant increment of the PWP from 40.74 L/m2/h/bar to 58.6 L/m2/h/bar, mainly due to the improved water transport properties of the membrane. Moreover, the percent removal of urea and lysozyme was reported to be 75.1% and 35.6%, respectively. PSf/Fe2O3 hemodialysis membrane is proven to have a bright prospect for enhanced blood purification process.