Antioxidative hydrogel-embedded polyethersulfone membrane with improved hemocompatibility to alleviate oxidative stress

Oxidative stress (OS) is an important pathogenesis mechanism and a non-traditional risk factor for mortality in patients with end-stage renal diseases. Due to the absence of antioxidant function and poor hemocompatibility of current hemodialysis membranes, OS is further aggravated during hemodialysis. In this work, Polyethersulfone membrane with hydrogel-embedded structure is fabricated by combining one-pot in-situ cross-linking polymerization and phase-separation, followed by grafting of tannic acid (TA). The obtained membrane shows excellent and rapid antioxidant behaviors for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH•, 77%), 2, 2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) radical (ABTS•+, 92 %), and superoxide radical (O2•−, 80 %) owing to the well-constructed TA layer. Meanwhile, the membrane displays superior hemocompatibility with the inhibited intrinsic coagulation pathway and negligible effect on blood cells and the complement system. Furthermore, simulated hemodialysis experiments in vitro prove the ultra-high clearance effect of the membrane for urea (54.29 %) and lysozyme (37.50 %), as well as the effective rejection of albumin (92.79 %). Overall, our work not only develops a promising antioxidative membrane for clinical hemodialysis but also provides a versatile platform for the innovation of multi-functional membranes.