Synergic effect of PVP and PEG hydrophilic additives on porous polyethersulfone (PES) membranes: preparation, characterization and biocompatibility

The objective of the study is to develop speciality polymeric membranes based on polyethersulfone (PES) by phase inversion method and analyzing the synergic effect of hydrophilic polymers polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) on membrane properties. Various formulations were developed for evaluating the hydrophilicity, morphology, thermal behaviour, cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility of membranes. Morphology studies revealed the variations in pore size, uniform porosity and surface roughness correlation of samples with different coagulation conditions and additive concentration. The tailoring of porosity and optimization of membranes with excellent biocompatibility were achieved by this study. Hemocompatibility of the optimized formulations were confirmed by protein adsorption, platelet adhesion and blood coagulation time. A significant reduction of protein adsorption to 96 +/- 3.5 ng/cm(2) compared to pristine PES membrane (257 +/- 5 ng/cm(2)) and an excellent increase in blood clotting time to 166.5 +/- 2 s compared to the control sample (37 s) were achieved. Developed membranes show good hydrophilicity (64.14 +/- 1.54 degrees C) and better cytocompatibility was observed. The high temperature performance was measured using thermogravimetric analysis which exhibited high heat resistance around 450 degrees C.

Automated summary

The objective of this study was to develop specialty polymeric membranes based on polyethersulfone (PES) and analyze the effect of hydrophilic polymers on membrane properties. The researchers successfully controlled the morphology and porosity of the membranes by adjusting coagulation conditions and additive concentrations. The optimized formulations showed excellent biocompatibility, reduced protein adsorption, increased blood clotting time, and good hydrophilicity.