Fabrication of Cellulose Acetate/Polyaziridine Blended Flat Sheet Membranes for Dialysis Application

Abstract

Polyaziridine or polyetyleneimine (PEI) was introduced as filler in cellulose acetate (CA) to fabricate mixed matrix membrane (MMM) for hemodialysis. Diffusion-induced phase separation (DIPS) method was followed for making PEI/CA MMM membranes. Effect of variation in the amount PEI was also examined on the morphology and performance of CA membrane. The surface morphology of pure and MMM membranes was studied by SEM, AFM, contact angle, and FTIR. Results of all characterization techniques revealed homogenous and significant blending of PEI content into pure CA matrix. Moreover, performance efficiency of MMM membranes was investigated in terms of pure water flux (PWF), urea clearance, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection. The concomitant decrease of contact angle from 78° to 69° in PEI/CA MMM membranes of varying composition successfully demonstrates enhancement in surface hydrophilicity of MMM membranes. For protein rejection, all PEI/CA MMM membranes rejected > 90% of BSA relative to 25% for pure CA membrane. Furthermore, urea clearance behavior for PEI/CA MMM membranes was 67.6% in comparison to 52% for pure CA membrane. The incorporation PEI appreciably enhanced the PWF, BSA rejection, and urea clearance of CA membrane for hemodialysis application.