Hollow Fibre Based Modules For Blood Purification

Abstract

A test fibre module was developed in order to evaluate the blood/plasma-membrane interaction as well as different engineering aspects of module design. The flow chart of the process is shown in figure 1. The fibres used were produced from polypropylene membranes (ENKA, Plasmaphan) as well as cellulose-di-acetate membranes produced by ASAHI (Japan), ENKA (West Germany) and the Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, PAS (Poland). Having taken into consideration the technological requirements of the device, the appropriate number of capillaries were loosely bundled together and cut to a specific length. Both ends of the bundle were sealed to avoid penetration of the polyurethane potting agent into the capillary interior. It was then placed in a housing and mounted in a special holder. To avoid water-polyurethane interaction, the assembled holder was stored for 24 h in a strictly controlled atmosphere (humidity below 20%, 48°C, at a pressure of 66.7 kPa) and occasionally flushed with dry nitrogen.