A superhydrophilic PEGDA-coated PBT membrane prepared by photoinitiated polymerization for hemodialysis therapy

Abstract

Conventional hydrophobic hemodialysis membranes risk exacerbating patient conditions through thrombosis induction during dialysis procedures, while current systemic anticoagulation strategies face a critical dilemma between insufficient heparinization and heparin overdose. This necessitates urgent development of superhydrophilic modification strategies for dialysis membranes. Here we report a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) coating strategy that imparts extreme hydrophilicity to hydrophobic poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) dialysis membranes via polymerization of PEGDA, leveraging its highly hydratable ether bonds. At 4% PEGDA, the modified PBT membrane achieved rapid surface hydration. This hydrophilicity optimization concurrently reduced protein adsorption by 82.30% and enhanced permeability flux by 13.37%. Furthermore, PEGDA modification can partially cover the pores, refining dialysis performance. The modified PEGDA-X membranes retained exceptional biosafety and stability. Notably, this superhydrophilic modification strategy has great potential for performance optimization in hemodialysis, potentially overcoming thrombogenic and inflammatory limitations of conventional membranes.