Contributions to Nephrology 2011-01-01

Cellulose triacetate as a high-performance membrane.

Takashi Sunohara, Toshiaki Masuda

Index: Contrib. Nephrol. 173 , 156-63, (2011)

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Abstract

The cellulose triacetate membrane is one of the typical high-performance membranes. Cellulose triacetate is a plastic material manufactured from cellulose. The hydroxyl group of cellulose is chemically substituted for the carboxyl group. Therefore, its characteristics are quite different from cellulose. The cellulose triacetate membrane has a homogeneous membrane structure. It can be produced with a wide range of permeability, from low-flux performance to super high-flux performance. Because the thickness of the membrane is thin, and flow distribution of the dialysate (due to the moiré structure) is uniform, this enables the development of a dialyzer with high diffusive efficiency. Recently, this new product, improved through a sieving process, produced a uniform pore size distribution. As for the dialyzer, through sterilization by γ-rays with the absence of oxygen, now enables long-term safety of the product. Several clinical improvements have been reported, such as high antithrombus, the improvement of lipid metabolism and the reduction of biomarkers. Thus, continuous membrane development is desired, made of safe and stable cellulose triacetate material.Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.