Efficiency and biocompatibility of a polyethylene glycol grafted cellulosic membrane during hemodialysis

Dialytic efficiency and biocompatibility of a new modified cellulose membrane (NMC) were examined in vitro and clinically. NMC was obtained by grafting polyethylene-glycol (PEG) chains to the membrane surface of ordinary cellulose (OC), and it was expected that the random movement of PEG chains would prevent blood cells and large plasma proteins from coming into contact with the membrane surface, resulting in improving the biocompatibility and thrombogenicity of the membrane. Surface characteristics of NMC were rendered anionic and hydrophilic, however, the activations of complement and platelet systems were clearly suppressed in NMC. Minimum heparin requirement for hemodialysis was significantly lower with NMC than with OC dialyzer. No significant difference in solute and water removal was observed between the two dialyzers. These results indicate that NMC can provide increased biocompatibility and antithrombogenic effect while retaining the essential dialysis efficiency of OC.