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Review: Membranes for haemodialysis
Author(s) -
KERR PETER G,
HUANG LOUIS
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
nephrology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1440-1797
pISSN - 1320-5358
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1797.2010.01331.x
Subject(s) - membrane , dialysis , semipermeable membrane , medicine , biocompatibility , dialysis tubing , dialysis therapy , compartment (ship) , surgery , chemical engineering , chemistry , biochemistry , engineering , oceanography , geology
Haemodialysis, by design, uses a semipermeable membrane to separate blood from dialysate. The qualities of this membrane determine the nature of the ‘traffic’ between the blood and dialysate. In this sense, the qualities of the membrane determine what size molecules move from one compartment to the other, the amount and rate at which they might move and the amount and rate of water movement across the membrane. In addition, the nature of the membrane influences the biological response of the patient both in terms of what is or is not removed by the dialysis process and by way of the reaction to the biocompatibility of the membrane. This brief review will explore aspects of dialysis membrane characteristics.