2017 Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 54-57
We performed ultrafiltration experiments of albumin (Alb) in vitro using prototype dialyzers, including polyester polymer alloy (PEPA) membrane with the same permeability, surface area of 0.81m2 and packing density of hollow fibers and with different design factors in order to clarify the mechanisms of Alb transport. Ratios of effective length (L) to the diameter of housing （D） （L/D） were 9.3 (long & slim: LS), 5.1 (normal: N) and 2.9 (short and thick: ST), respectively, and the inner diameters of hollow fiber (d) were 170, 210 and 245μm. Therefore there examined total of 3×3=9 models. The test solution was prepared with chemical Alb dissolved in aqueous phosphate buffer of pH=7.4. Ultrafiltration experiments were performed for 12 hours at 310K. The flow rate of the test solution was 100mL/min, and that of ultrafiltration was 10mL/min. The minimum amount of Alb leakage at 12 hours was 1.2g in LS with d=170μm and the maximum was 4.3g in ST with d=245μm. The amount of Alb leakage can be expressed as a function of the average wall shear rate of the test solution. Therefore, it may be possible to control the Alb leakage by changing the d and/or other design factors.
