Cellulose acetate-polyvinyl alcohol blend hemodialysis membranes integrated with dialysis performance and high biocompatibility

Highlights: • A study of the formation of hemodialysis hemocompatible membranes by blending of the various composition of PVA in CA-PEG. • Among all the samples CA-PVA 1.5 wt.% provides the high flux 42.484 L/m²h and 95% of BSA rejection at 25°C and 2 bar pressure. • 93% and 89% of the urea and creatinine were retentates by the 1.5 wt.% membranes as mentioned conditions. • The PVA blend samples achieved attractive biocompatible results. • CA-PEG-PVA blend membranes are better than pure CA membranes for hemodialysis. Hemodialysis considered as therapy of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for the separation of protein and uremic toxins based on their molecular weights using semi-permeable membranes. Cellulose Acetate (CA) hemodialysis membrane has been widely used in the biomedical field particularly for hemodialysis applications. The main issue of CA membrane is less selectivity and hemocompatibility. In this study, to enhance the filtration capability and biocompatibility of CA hemodialysis membrane modified by using Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) as additives. CA-PVA flat sheet membranes were cast by phase inversion method, 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 L/m² h is the maximum pure water flux obtained. The CA-PVA 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. CA-PVA hemodialysis membranes are more efficient than conventional reported hemodialysis membranes. It revealed that CA-PVA is high performing biocompatible hemodialysis membrane.