The use of Membranes and Sorbents for Blood Detoxification: Cuprophan Sorbent Membranes

Abstract

The use of membranes and sorbents for blood detoxification are well published topics in the field of artificial organs. The advantage of the membrane process is that it exhibits low trauma in contact with blood, no particulate is generated, and the removal of large molecular weight substances or cells can be prevented from passage due to the porosity or permeability of the membrane’s wall. Herein lies also a disadvantage in that transport is a function of solute size and discriminate solute removal patterns are thus not possible. The advantage of sorbents is that their physical and chemical characteristics can be matched with those of the solute to be removed. Thereby, specific solute removal patterns different than that of membrane separations and not really as dependent as molecular size can be achieved. Disadvantages in the use of sorbents, however, have been the blood trauma related to damage of blood components or the removal of the cellular elements and particular generation with carryover into the vascular system. As a practical consideration in the use of sorbents for blood detoxification in the treatment of most disease states in which the range of solutes to be removed is broad and generally no one sorbent is totally effective, multiple sorbents must be employed. Past studies have concentrated primarily on the use of a single sorbent.