Radiosynthesis of hydrogel confined to hollow-fiber membranes for the design of a bioartificial extra-corporeal liver

Abstract: Current bioartificial extra-corporeal systems are bioreactors where cells are separated from the surrounding media by porous polymeric membranes. The present work focuses on the design of membranes that allow the differential diffusion of plasma metabolites and proteins such as immunoglobulin (IgG). This design will improve catabolites removal and reduce possible immune response and virus infection. We demonstrate the feasibility to synthesize the hydrogels confined to the macroporous structure of membranes by radiation-induced in situ polymerization. The hollow-fiber membranes were soaked in aqueous monomeric solution, rinsed and irradiated while submerged in oil. This procedure confined the hydrogel to the void internal volume of the pores of the membrane. Hydrogels of polyacrylamide and polyHEMA were synthesized this way by irradiation at 10kGy. Hydraulic permeability and diffusion of glucose, albumin and IgG were measured in these hydrogel-filled membranes. Polyacrylamide 0.5M showed the best compromise between albumin diffusion (1.2×10−7 cm2/s) and HSA/IgG selectivity (2.2). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]