Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 3 Department of Community Medicine, King Edward University, Lahore, Pakistan
  • 4 Interdisciplinary Research Center in Biomedical Materials, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 5 Department of Dental Materials, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
  • 6 Department of Chemistry, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 7 Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
  • 8 Department of Community Medicine, Nishtar Medical University, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 9 Department of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan
Artif Organs, 2021 Nov;45(11):1377-1390.
PMID: 34152645 DOI: 10.1111/aor.14020

Abstract

In the current study, a phase inversion scheme was employed to fabricate hydroxyapatite (HA)/polysulfone (PSF)-based asymmetric membranes using a film applicator with water as a solvent and nonsolvent exchanging medium. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopic studies were conducted to confirm the bonding chemistry and purity of filler. The inherent thick nature of PSF generated sponge-like shape while the instantaneous demixing process produced finger-like pore networks in HA/PSF-based asymmetric membranes as exhibited by scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs. The FTIR spectra confirmed noncovalent weak attractions toward the polymer surface. The leaching ratio was evaluated to observe the dispersion behavior of HA filler in membrane composition. Hydrophilicity, pore profile, pure water permeation (PWP) flux, and molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) values of all formulated membranes were also calculated. Antifouling results revealed that HA modified PSF membranes exhibited 43% less adhesion of bovine serum albumin (BSA) together with >86% recovery of flux. Membrane composition showed 74% total resistance, out of which 60% was reversible resistance. Biocompatibility evaluation revealed that the modified membranes exhibited prothrombin time (PT), and thrombin time (TT) comparable with typical blood plasma, whereas proliferation of living cells over membrane surface proved its nontoxic behavior toward biomedical application. The urea and creatinine showed effective adsorption aptitude toward HA loaded PSF membranes.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.