60Co γ-ray irradiation modified poly(4-methyli-pentene) membrane for oxygenator

Abstract To improve the blood compatibility, this study utilizes 60 Co γ-irradiation to graft 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), acrylamide (AAm) and acrylic acid (AAc) onto the blended membranes of poly(4-methyl-l-pentene)/poly(dimethylsiloxane) (TPX/PDMS). The grafted membranes possess high permeabilities of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The effects of inhibitor concentration, kinds of solvent, monomer concentration and irradiation time on the degree of grafting for the 60 Co γ irradiation membranes were investigated. A high gas permeability and blood compatibility grafted membrane was successfully prepared. For example, the permeabilities of 57.91 and 197.32 barrers [1 barrer = 1 × 10 −10 (cm 3 at STP) (cm thickness)/(cm 2 area)-sec-(cmHg)] for oxygen and carbon dioxide, respectively, and the adsorbed mole ratio of fibrinogen to albumin of 0.27 can be obtained for PHEMA-hetero-g-TPX membranes with 119.61% degree of grafting. The results indicated that the prepared membranes are feasible as oxygenator membrane materials.