Characterization of New Experimental Materials for Hemodialysis Membranes and Simulation of Urea Dialysis Process with Their Use

Abstract

The acute shortage of hemodialysis cartridges in Russia, resulting from restrictions imposed by the European Union on the supply of high-tech equipment, has necessitated the development of domestically produced, cost-effective, and efficient hemodialysis membranes. In this study, experimental membranes based on polysulfone were developed and characterized. The effects of different pore-forming agents, polyethylene glycol and polyvinylpyrrolidone, on the structure and transport properties of the membranes have been compared. A non-steady state one-dimensional mathematical model of urea dialysis was proposed, with a key feature being the consideration of the membrane’s microheterogeneous structure. A comparison of the modeling results with experimental data on the time-dependent urea concentration in the dialysate compartment of the dialysis system indicates that the model accurately describes the system under study. A theoretical evaluation of the efficiency of the developed membrane material under conditions relevant to the hemodialysis process has been conducted, along with a comparison of urea removal performance with Nephral ST hemodialysis cartridges from Baxter, a company with a significant presence in the global market. The results have shown that the polysulfone-based membrane produced using polyvinylpyrrolidone demonstrates performance slightly inferior to that of commercially available cartridges, highlighting its potential for use in the production of hollow fiber membranes for hemodialysis cartridges.