Gambro Lundia Ab

Fraunhofer-gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.v.

Gambro Ab

Gambro Lundis Ab

Gambro Dialysatoren Gmbh

Hermann Göhl

Bernd Krause

Markus Storr

Reinhold J Buck

Markus Hornung

Werner Beck

Reinhold Deppisch

Matthias Wessling

Jürgen Dannenmaier

Ulrich Bauer

Ruth Dietrich

Michael Müller

Christian Oehr

Edmund Kurz

Heinrich Malthaner

Colin Hutchison

Katja Krämer

Christoph Beck

Paul Cockwell

Carina Kraft

The present invention relates to high cut-off hemodialysis membranes for the treatment of chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients, with the potential to improve long-term survival of these patients by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, through down-regulation of monocyte activation in the blood. Monocytes are the major circulating blood cells involved in the progression of cardiovascular disease. High cut-off hemodialysis in chronic dialysis patients results in a sustained decrease in expression of monocyte cell-surface proteins that direct the movement of these cells from the blood to the walls of blood vessels, where they promote the progression of arterial disease (atherosclerosis) that leads to cardiovascular disease (CVD); heart disease, strokes and peripheral vascular disease.

Method of treating a subject suffering from end stage renal disease against cardiovascular disease

The present invention relates to a membrane being suitable for, for example, hemodialysis. Said membrane comprises at least one hydrophobic polymer and at least one hydrophilic polymer. According to the present invention the outer surface of the hollow fiber has pores in the range of 0.5-3 &#x3bc;m and the numbers of said pores in the outer surface are in the range of 10,000 to 150,000 pores per mm, preferably in the range of 18,000 to 100,000 pores per mm, and most preferably in the range of 20,000 to 100,000 pores per mm. The present invention further relates to a process for the preparation of said membrane and use of said membrane in hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration and hemofiltration, and in dialysis and filtration in general, for example in water purification or dehydration.

Permselective membrane and process for manufacturing thereof

A continuous method for production of a porous hollow fibre membrane having regioselective affinity for compounds in blood or other biologically active fluids to be removed during purification of blood or said fluids is disclosed, as well as a porous hollow fibre membrane produced by said method, an adsorption device containing such a porous hollow fibre membrane, and use of such a porous hollow fibre membrane.

Continuous method for production of a regioselective porous hollow fibre membrane

The membrane producible by shaping a polymer blend or a block copolymer comprising blocks of monomer units, loading the polymer blend or block copolymer with a blowing gas concentration within the polymer blend or block polymer above a critical concentration at a temperature below a critical temperature, but above the glass transition temperature of the polymer blend/gas or block copolymer/gas mixture and finally stabilizing the foam structure is characterized in that as polymer blend a homogeneous polymer blend comprising at least one hydrophilic and at least one hydrophobic polymer and/or a block copolymer of alternating blocks of hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomer units is used, both the polymer blend and the block copolymer having a solubility relating to the used foaming gas above the critical concentration. The said membrane is used for medical purposes, especially for the haemodialysis, haemofiltration, haemodiafiltration, plasmapherese, immunotherapy, micro- or ultrafiltration or gas separation.

Membrane and use thereof

The present invention includes a co-polymer film which can be applied over a surface of an article to form a continuous surface that is more biocompatible and has a smoother surface morphology than an untreated article. In general the co-polymer film of the invention can be formed by providing a hydrophobic polymer block, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with functional &#x2014;OH end groups and reacting the &#x2014;OH ends with a conventional monomer or prepolymer of a film-forming polymer capable of reacting with &#x2014;OH groups. Such reactions are exemplified, using as reactive PDMS a triblock copolymer of the polylactone-polysiloxane-polylactone (PL-PDMS-PL) type, or silicone polyesters. The &#x2014;OH groups of the polylactone blocks can react with any of a variety of isocyanates in a suitable solvent to form a polymer having PDMS incorporated with its structure. The film can be applied to the surface of an article by any convenient means of coating the article with the reaction mixture in solvent, and allowing the solvent to evaporate.

Biocompatible polymer film

Growing community of inventors

Bisingen, Germany

Hermann Göhl