The invention relates to extracorporeal blood circuits, and components thereof (e.g., hollow fiber membranes, potted bundles, and blood tubing), including 0.005% to 10% (w/w) surface modifying macromolecule. The extracorporeal blood circuits have an antithrombogenic surface and can be used in hemofiltration, hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, hemoconcentration, blood oxygenation, and related uses.

The present disclosure relates to semipermeable membranes which are suitable for blood purification, e.g. by hemodialysis, which have an increased ability to remove larger molecules while at the same time effectively retaining albumin. The membranes are characterized by a molecular retention onset (MWRO) of between 9.0 kD and 14.5 kD and a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of between 55 kD and 130 kD as determined by dextran sieving curves and can be prepared by industrially feasible processes excluding a treatment with salt before drying. The invention therefore also relates to a process for the production of the membranes and to their use in medical applications.

A membrane obtainable from curing a composition comprising: (i) a curable compound comprising at least two (meth)acrylic groups and a sulphonic acid group and having a molecular weight which satisfies the equation: MW<(300+300n) wherein: MW is the molecular weight of the said curable compound; and n has a value of 1, 2, 3 or 4 and is the number of sulphonic acid groups present in the said curable compound; and optionally (ii) a curable compound having one ethylenically unsaturated group; wherein the molar fraction of curable compounds comprising at least two (meth)acrylic groups, relative to the total number of moles of curable compounds present in the composition, is at least 0.25.

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a porous membrane having high water permeability and hydrophilicity, which is not easily affected by a treatment such as washing, the method including: preparing, as a substrate, a membrane having a plurality of pores, which includes a water-insoluble resin such as polysulfone and a water-soluble resin including a monomer unit of polyvinylpyrrolidone or a monomer unit of polyvinyl alcohol; and irradiating the substrate with an electron beam in the presence of an aqueous solvent to crosslink at least a part of the water-soluble resin.

A substrate surface may be modified with a polymer coating to render the surface suitable for plasma functionalization. The polymer coating is deposited onto the surface at ambient temperature to a thickness of less than 0.1 m. The polymer coating includes poly(p-xylylene) or a derivative thereof, and is capable of penetrating into pores of a porous substrate while no substantially altering the porosity of the substrate. The coated substrate is selected from a material lacking a primary or secondary aliphatic hydrogen atom.

The present disclosure relates to a membrane prepared from a blend comprising i) a polysulfone, polyether sulf one or polyarylethersulfone and ii) polyvinylpyrrolidone, characterized in that the membrane is coated with polydopamine and chon-droitin. Optionally the coating further comprises heparin. The disclosure further relates to a process for producing the coated membrane, a method of increasing the selectivity of a membrane, and to a filtration/diffusion device comprising the membrane which can be used, for example, in hemodialysis applications.

The invention disclosed herein generally relates to matrices comprising polymers and methods for preparing them.

Asymmetric articles are described including a porous substrate with two opposing major surfaces and a porous structure extending between the surfaces, and a polymeric coating on one of the major surfaces and extending into the porous structure to a depth of the porous structure. Methods for making an asymmetric composite article are also provided, including providing a porous substrate, treating the porous substrate with a plasma treatment or a corona treatment from one major surface to a depth of the porous structure between the two major surfaces. The method further includes applying a coating solution to the treated porous substrate and drying the coating solution to form a composite asymmetric composite article having a polymeric coating on one major surface and extending into the porous structure to the depth of the treated porous structure.

Disclosed are copolymers which are useful in hydrophilically modifying fluoropolymer membranes. An example of the copolymers is: ##STR00001##
Also disclosed are a method of preparing such copolymers, a method of modifying fluoropolymer membrane surfaces, and hydrophilic fluoropolymer porous membranes prepared from the copolymers.

Disclosed are copolymers which are useful in hydrophilically modifying fluoropolymer membranes. An example of the copolymers is: ##STR00001##
Also disclosed are a method of preparing such copolymers, a method of modifying fluoropolymer membrane surfaces, and hydrophilic fluoropolymer porous membranes prepared from the copolymers.