Polymeric Membranes for Medical Applications

Abstract

The commercial application of membranes in dialysis treatment has started already 40 years ago. Today, dialysis is the application in medicine using the largest number of membrane surface area per year. Integration of the membrane production process into dialyzer manufacturing was the key element in the successful transition from small scale production to large scale dialyzer manufacturing. Automatization techniques are heavily integrated into this process to fulfill the high quality and safety demands in medical technology. This paper gives an overview on the different membrane applications in medical industry. The material selection for manufacturing dialysis membranes and the different membrane morphologies are discussed. In the second part the different manufacturing steps in dialyzer production are presented.

Development of micro-scale hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes

“…One of the most common membrane configurations is the hollow fiber module. Todate, the smallest diameter of hollow fiber membranes used in industry is in the range of 40-100 m [1].…”

Plasma modification of microporous polymer membranes for application in biomimetic dissolution studies

“…Polymer materials have been adopted as an important tool in separation technologies, with numerous scientific and practical applications in a variety of including biopharmaceutics and biomimetic dissolution testing (Ho et al 2000;Robeson 1999;Krause et al 2003;Baker 2002;Fakhru'l-Razi et al 2009;Shannon et al 2008;Azarmi et al 2007). As a classical approach to modifying the properties of polymers, wet chemical modifications have been shown to induce the presence of reactive functional groups at the surface of polymer membranes (Liston et al 1994).…”

Gas barrier efficiency of clay- and graphene-poly(isobutylene-co-isoprene) nanocomposite membranes evidenced by a quantum resistive vapor sensor cell

“…These include the controlled drug delivery and transfusion of body fluids through polymer membranes in medicine, 1 fabrication of impermeable tires, balls and inflatable boats in industries, etc. Moreover, the information on barrier properties of polymers helps in the selective removal of toxic solvent vapors.…”