Iron oxide nanoparticles improved biocompatibility and removal of middle molecule uremic toxin of polysulfone hollow fiber membranes

Middle molecule uremic toxins constitute to a quarter of uremic toxins present in human blood. In a condition where these uremic toxins accumulate in bloodstream due to renal failure, blood purification process using a high performance membrane is required. Here, we develop biocompatible mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) made up of polysulfone (PSf) and iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₂O₃ NPs) with the focus to remove middle molecule uremic toxin effectively. The MMMs were evaluated in terms of their biocompatibility and separation performance. At higher Fe₂O₃ NPs loading, the MMM displayed a huge reduction of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion while maintaining normal blood coagulation time and acceptable complement activation. The optimized MMM exhibited high permeability (110.47 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹), protein retention (99.9%) and demonstrated excellent clearance of urea (82%) and lysozyme (46.7%). The PSf/Fe₂O₃ MMM is proven to have promising attributes for hemodialysis application. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48234.