In-situ modified polyethersulfone oxygenation membrane with improved hemocompatibility and gas transfer efficiency

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is one of the most important supporting therapies for patients with severe cardiopulmonary failure, and the core component of ECMO is the membrane oxygenator. However, in clinical application, the membrane oxygenator faces a dilemma in balancing anticoagulation and hemorrhage risks, which restrains the service life of membrane oxygenator and affects patients' safety seriously. In this work, we introduce poly (1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) into polyethersulfone (PES) membranes simply by in-situ crosslinking polymerization and nonsolvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. All the modified membranes exhibit favorable hemocompatibility with prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) (>10 s). Besides, the introduction of PAA can improve CO2 and O2 permeabilities simultaneously (increased by 36.57% and 30.86% at maximum, respectively, compared with pristine PES membrane). Finally, an ECMO-simulated gas-liquid contactor circulation device is designed, and the modified membranes show better oxygenation performance and CO2 removal performance. The membrane modification and fabrication methods in this work are simple, low-cost, and easily industrialized. The work has practical guiding significance for the subsequent membrane research and application toward oxygenators.

Automated summary

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a crucial therapy for patients with severe cardiopulmonary failure, but the membrane oxygenator faces challenges in balancing anticoagulation and hemorrhage risks, affecting its lifespan and patient safety. This study successfully introduces poly (1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) into polyethersulfone (PES) membranes, resulting in modified membranes with favorable hemocompatibility and improved CO2 and O2 permeabilities. The modified membranes demonstrate better oxygenation and CO2 removal performances in an ECMO-simulated gas-liquid contactor circulation device. The simple, low-cost, and easily industrialized membrane modification methods in this study have practical guiding significance for future membrane research and oxygenator applications.