Abstract
A nano porous polyethersulfone (PES) membrane is widely used for aspects of nanofiltration, such as purification, fractionation and dialysis. However, the low-blood-compatibility characteristic of PES membrane causes platelets and blood cells to stick to the surface of the membrane and degrades ions diffusion through membrane, which further limits its application for dialysis systems. In this study, we deposited the fluorinated-diamond-like-carbon (F-DLC) onto the finger like structure layer of the PES membrane. By doing this, we have the F-DLC films coating the membrane surface without sacrificing the membrane permeability. In addition, we examined antithrombogenicity of the F-DLC/PES membranes using a microfluidic device, and experimentally found that F-DLC drastically reduced the amount of blood cells attached to the surface. We have also conducted long-term experiments for 24 days and the diffusion characteristics were found to be deteriorated due to fouling without any surface modification. On the other hand, the membranes coated by F-DLC film gave a consistent diffusion coefficient of ions transfer through a membrane porous. Therefore, F-DLC films can be a great candidate to improve the antithrombogenic characteristics of the membrane surfaces in hemodialysis systems.
Highlights
Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane is a polymeric type of membrane, which has been used for separation and filtration purposes
On the other hand, when the F-diamond-like carbon (DLC) film was coated on the finger like structure layer, the membrane remained permeable despite the fact that the permeability of the membrane is decreased with the increased of the deposited F-DLC film
F-DLC film was coated on the finger like structure layer of the PES
Summary
Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane is a polymeric type of membrane, which has been used for separation and filtration purposes. PES membranes can tolerate many kinds of sterilized methods, including epoxy ethane gas, steam, and γ-ray, and are high permeable to diffuse low molecular weight proteins when applied as hemodialysis membranes [1]. Some researchers have employed PES membranes in biomedical applications to make artificial organs, and in the field of medical devices they are mainly used for blood purification purposes: for example, hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, hemofiltration, plasmapheresis and plasma collection [2,3,4,5]. When a PES membrane is used in the blood contact device, proteins from the blood will be absorbed onto the PES membrane surface and will form a protein layer. The formed protein layer on the PES membrane surface may cause platelet adhesion and blood clotting. Injections of anti-coagulants during medical application are necessary to prevent blood coagulation [6]
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