Alkyl derivatized cellulose acetate membranes with enhanced albumin affinity

Alkylation techniques have been developed for C16 derivatization of cellulose acetate membranes. High yields of alkylated cellulose acetate were obtained which led to correspondingly high yields in albumin adsorption. Centrifugation improved impurity removal and enhanced albumin binding to the membrane. The affinity of the alkylated membranes for albumin diminished with increasing degrees of alkylation, which we attribute to steric hindrance effects. The results suggest that improved thromboresistance may be obtained by such means for hemodialysis, plasmapheresis and other filtration applications.