Fabrication and Characterization of Cellulose Acetate/ Polyethylene Glycol/Polyvinyl Alcohol Blend Membrane for BSA Rejection and Uremic Toxins Clearance

Abstract

For the therapy of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), hemodialysis is a widely used extracorporeal technique. Hemodialysis considered as superior technique for the separation of protein and uremic toxins based on their molecular weights using semipermeable membranes. It is hard to modernize anticoagulant dialyzers for anticoagulant exempt hemodialysis. So, we fabricate an eco-friendly highperformance biocompatible membrane. Cellulose Acetate (CA) hemodialysis membrane with enhanced filtration capability and hemocompatibility was developed by using Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) as the blending additives. By blending different ratios of PVA in the CA-PEG, the phase inversion technique was used to cast the membranes, and separation was done by dead-end filtration cell. The synthesized membranes were described in terms of chemical structure using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), pure water flux, solute permeation, and protein retention. Biocompatibility of the membranes was tested by the platelet adherence, hemolysis ratio, thrombus formation, and plasma recalcification time. SEM images exposed that the CA-PVA membrane has a uniform porous structure. 42.484 Lm-2 h-1 is the maximum pure water flux obtained. The CAPVA rejected up to 95% of bovine serum albumin (BSA). A similar membrane separated 93% of urea and 89% of creatinine. Platelet adhesion and hemolysis ratio of casted membranes were less than the pure CA membrane. Increased clotting time and less thrombus formation on the membrane’s surface showed that the fabricated membrane is biocompatible. Depending on such results, it can be concluded that the CA-PVA membrane is well biocompatible can be used for hemodialysis membranes.