Hydrophilic modified PES asymmetric membrane via thermal cross-linking for artificial lung application

Excellent hemocompatibility and long-term stability against blood wetting are important properties required for artificial lung membrane, the core component in extracorporeal membrane oxygenator which is life-saving for patients with severe lung dysfunctions. Herein, novel hydrophilic modified polyethersulfone (PES) asymmetric membranes were synthesized via thermal cross-linking, and characterization via SEM, FTIR, 1H NMR and surface water contact angle measurements demonstrated that the modified asymmetric membranes composing a dense layer with hydrophilic surface on top of a microporous support layer were successfully fabricated without any observed defects. Among all the modified membranes, PEGylated PES membrane exhibited the smoothest membrane surface, improved mechanical property, good gas permeability and the best performance in hemocompatibility in terms of blood coagulation, protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. Moreover, the PEGylated PES membrane showed excellent long-term stability in membrane surface wettability as well as long-term stable performance against blood fouling and wetting. This research work provides valuable insights and new idea into synthesizing membranes, with simple synthesis process, long lasting high hemocompatibility and stability against wetting, for application as artificial lung membranes.