In vitro hemocompatibility of PVA alginate ester as a candidate for hemodialysis membrane.
Alginate based biopolymer with improved physical and chemical properties after esterification using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been studied for possible application as a hemodialysis membrane. The alginic acid to vinyl alcohol molar ratio was predetermined at 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1. Mechanical strength, hydrophilicity and Ca(2+ adsorption of the membrane before and after modification were evaluated. The obtained PVA alginate (PVA Alg) ester membrane was also confirmed using FTIR and SEM. It shows that the PVA Alg membrane tensile strength is higher than that of native alginate. The water contact angle of the membrane was found to be around 33 50deg. The Ca(2+ adsorption capacity tends to decrease with the increase in molar ratio. Furthermore, the modified PVA Alg ester membrane achieves better protein adsorption and platelet adhesion than the unmodified one. It also exhibits a dialysis performance of 47.1 50.0% for clearance of urea and 42.2 44.6% for clearance of creatinine, respectively. It is expected that this PVA Alg ester may challenge cellulose acetate for potential application as hemodialysis membranes.
International journal of biological macromolecules