A hollow-fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a rectangular tubular outer casing with at least one sidewall being open, the outer casing having a plurality of open ports, and an inner casing configured such that a plurality of hollow-fiber membranes aligned in a longitudinal direction of the outer casing are placeable in the inner casing and configured to be insertable into the one sidewall.

A hollow-fiber membrane module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a rectangular tubular outer casing with at least one sidewall being open, the outer casing having a plurality of open ports, and an inner casing configured such that a plurality of hollow-fiber membranes aligned in a longitudinal direction of the outer casing are placeable in the inner casing and configured to be insertable into the one sidewall.

A biological filtering device includes a fluid inlet for receiving a biological fluid, a human cell filter coupled to the fluid inlet and having a pore size to capture human cells, a bacteria cell filter having a pore size to capture bacteria cells, a fluid connector fluidically connecting the human cell filter to the bacteria cell filter, and a fluid outlet coupled to the bacteria cell filter for discharging the biological fluid. In some cases, the biological filtering device may include an additional human cell filter and/or an additional bacteria cell filter. A method of using a biological filtering device includes fluidically coupling the biological filtering device between a syringe and a biological fluid storage unit, inserting a catheter into a patient, and pulling biological fluid, via the syringe, from the patient, through the human cell filter and the bacteria cell filter, and into the biological fluid storage unit.

A cell culture bioreactor has perfusion membranes and gas transfer membranes or a gas phase in an extra-membrane space in contact with a film on the perfusion membranes. Gas transfer membranes may travel through the perfusion membranes or through the extra-membrane space. Examples with hollow fiber and flat sheet membranes are shown. One or more of the membranes optionally has a responsive surface, for example a thermo-responsive surface. In some examples, membranes are located in X-Y planes while the length of the reactor extends in a Z-direction.

A hollow fiber membrane element, comprising: a core tube comprising a side face having a plurality of pores; and a hollow fiber membrane group consisting of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes disposed around the core tube, the hollow fiber membrane element being a both open-ended type hollow fiber membrane element in which both ends of the core tube and the plurality of hollow fiber membranes are open. The hollow fiber membrane group includes a first hollow fiber membrane layer composed of a plurality of first hollow fiber membranes disposed so as to surround the core tube and a second hollow fiber membrane layer composed of a plurality of second hollow fiber membranes disposed so as to surround the first hollow fiber membrane layer, and a permeability coefficient of the plurality of first hollow fiber membranes is smaller than a permeability coefficient of the plurality of second hollow fiber membranes.

A hollow fiber membrane element, comprising: a core tube comprising a side face having a plurality of pores; and a hollow fiber membrane group consisting of a plurality of hollow fiber membranes disposed around the core tube, the hollow fiber membrane element being a both open-ended type hollow fiber membrane element in which both ends of the core tube and the plurality of hollow fiber membranes are open. The hollow fiber membrane group includes a first hollow fiber membrane layer composed of a plurality of first hollow fiber membranes disposed so as to surround the core tube and a second hollow fiber membrane layer composed of a plurality of second hollow fiber membranes disposed so as to surround the first hollow fiber membrane layer, and a permeability coefficient of the plurality of first hollow fiber membranes is smaller than a permeability coefficient of the plurality of second hollow fiber membranes.

A hollow-fiber membrane according to an aspect of the present disclosure contains a polytetrafluoroethylene or a modified polytetrafluoroethylene as a main component and has an average outer diameter of 1 mm or less and an average inner diameter of 0.5 mm or less. In a measurement of a heat of fusion of the polytetrafluoroethylene or the modified polytetrafluoroethylene with a differential scanning calorimeter, when the polytetrafluoroethylene or modified polytetrafluoroethylene is subjected to a first step of heating from room temperature to 365° C., a second step of cooling from 365° C. to 350° C., maintaining the temperature, subsequently cooling from 350° C. to 330° C., and further cooling from 330° C. to 305° C., and a third step of cooling from 305° C. to 245° C. at a rate of −50° C./min and subsequently heating from 245° C. to 365° C. at a rate of 10° C./min, a heat of fusion from 296° C. to 343° C. in the third step is 30.0 J/g or more and 45.0 J/g or less.

A hollow-fiber membrane according to an aspect of the present disclosure contains a polytetrafluoroethylene or a modified polytetrafluoroethylene as a main component and has an average outer diameter of 1 mm or less and an average inner diameter of 0.5 mm or less. In a measurement of a heat of fusion of the polytetrafluoroethylene or the modified polytetrafluoroethylene with a differential scanning calorimeter, when the polytetrafluoroethylene or modified polytetrafluoroethylene is subjected to a first step of heating from room temperature to 365° C., a second step of cooling from 365° C. to 350° C., maintaining the temperature, subsequently cooling from 350° C. to 330° C., and further cooling from 330° C. to 305° C., and a third step of cooling from 305° C. to 245° C. at a rate of −50° C./min and subsequently heating from 245° C. to 365° C. at a rate of 10° C./min, a heat of fusion from 296° C. to 343° C. in the third step is 30.0 J/g or more and 45.0 J/g or less.

Provided is a hollow fiber membrane module comprising: a hollow fiber membrane bundle; a housing; a first adhesively-fixed portion and a second adhesively-fixed portion configured to adhesively fix, at both ends of each of the hollow fiber membranes, with a potting material: the hollow fiber membranes to each other, and the hollow fiber membrane bundle to an inner wall of the housing; and a regulating member 40 configured to regulate arrangement of the hollow fiber membranes, wherein: on an end face outer than the housing of at least one of the first adhesively-fixed portion or the second adhesively-fixed portion, when a range of a circle having a center at a center of the end face and a radius equal to ½ of a radius of the end face is defined as a central portion, and a range other than the central portion is defined as a circumferential portion, a ratio of an area ratio of the regulating member 40 and the potting material to an entire area of the central portion to an area ratio of the regulating member 40 and the potting material to an entire area of the circumferential portion is 0.8 or more and 1.2 or less.

A blood oxygenator includes a housing having a blood inlet, a blood outlet, a gas inlet, and a gas outlet; and a gas exchange medium having a plurality of hollow fibers in fluid communication with the gas inlet and the gas outlet. Each of the hollow fibers has a roughened outer surface configured to decrease a thickness of a boundary layer at an interface between blood and the roughened outer surface and increase a gas exchange rate at the interface.