A new multilayered composite hollow fiber membrane for artificial lung

The gas transfer performances in a gas/membrane/liquid system were investigated in detail with various membranes. It was found that the oxygen flux in the gas/membrane/liquid system was saturated when the oxygen flux (Fg-g) in the gas/membrane/gas system became more than 1.0 x 10(-5) cm3 (STP) cm-2s-1cm Hg-1 (Fcg-g). This was explained as follows: The resistance of a boundary layer at liquid phase is dominant, i.e., the membrane resistance is negligible in the region of Fg-g which is greater than Fcg-g. Consequently, Fg-g of the membrane should be designed to be greater than Fcg-g, in order to satisfy the gas transfer performance required for blood oxygenation. On the basis of the results above, we have developed a new three-layered composite hollow fiber membrane (MHF) consisting of an ultrathin polyurethane layer supported between two microporous polyethylene layers to prevent serum leakage. It was shown through the evaluation in vitro that MHF had good gas transfer performances for long-term perfusion, and no serum leakage was observed. These characteristics suggest that MHF is quite suitable for long-term usage such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).