Fabrication of anti-leakage Hyflon AD/Poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) hollow fiber composite membrane for an extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system

Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems can perform the roles of the human heart and lungs to realize extra-corporeal oxygenation of blood. This system mainly depends on the gas-blood exchange membrane, the quality of which impacts the oxygenation performance. Currently, the most widely used gas-blood exchange membrane is made of poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) hollow fibers. However, plasma leakage often occurs during clinical applications, which decreases the oxygenation performance and the service life and may endanger the patient's life in serious cases. In this work, Hyflon AD/PMP hollow fiber composite membranes were prepared by coating Hyflon AD on the surfaces of PMP hollow fibers to form ultra-thin, dense layers. Compared the plasma leakage time of the composite membrane with that of the pristine PMP membrane, the Hyflon AD60 layer showed great improvement in anti-leakage performance. The Hyflon AD60/PMP hollow fiber composite membrane possessed lower platelet adhesion and protein adhesion than that of the PMP membrane, indicating better blood compatibility of the Hyflon AD60 membrane. Cytotoxicity experiments were conducted to further confirm the biosafety of Hyflon AD60 as a blood contact medical membrane material. Gas permeance and oxygenation performance of the Hyflon AD60/PMP hollow fiber composite membrane were tested to ensure gas exchange efficiency during the gas separation process. Therefore, the optimized Hyflon AD60/PMP hollow fiber composite membrane has potential for clinical use.