ANALYSIS OF PORE DIAMETER DISTRIBUTION OF ULTRAFILTRATION MEMBRANE USING HIGH MOLECULAR DEXTRAN

The phenomenon in which proteins in blood are attached on the surface or occluded in the pore of the membrane is referred to as fouling. Fouling decreases pore size of the membrane, thereby decreasing the solute permeability. In this study, three different dialyzers with polyester polymer alloy (PEPA) membrane that included polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), that is, FLX (PEPA with no PVP), standard pore size FDX (PEPA with PVP),and larger pore size FDY (PEPA with PVP) were evaluated to investigate the pore diameter before and after use of dextran solution. Reduction in pore diameter of FLX is largest because FLX does not include PVP, it has adsorption characteristic based on hydrophobic interaction. However, reduction in the pore diameter of FDX is smaller than that of FLX. By enlarging the pore diameter in FDY (with PVP), reduction of solute permeability was the smallest. These findings may contribute to the development of novel devices for blood purification therapy