Toray Industries, Inc.

Takeshi Sonoda

Masaaki Shimagaki

Fumiaki Fukui

Koji Sugita

Tatsuo Nogi

Shigenori Takenaka

Yoshitaka Tanaka

Respective hollow fiber membranes suitable for use in removing undesired contaminants from blood, in particular in an artificial kidney, have:

Polysulfone hollow fiber semipermeable membrane

A membrane for microfiltration, ultrafiltration or dialysis comprises a methyl methacrylate copolymer containing about 0.5 to 10 mol % of a monomer having sulfonate groups, and a methyl methacrylate copolymer containing about 0.5 to 10 mol % of a monomer having quaternary nitrogen-containing groups. It is manufactured by mixing those copolymers, dissolving the mixture in a solvent such as dimethylsulfoxide or dimethylformamide, and forming a membrane from a solution of the copolymers by casting or spinning. The membrane is particularly suitable for use in the purification of blood, and its most preferable form is hollow fibers. A method of preparing hollow fibers comprises extruding the copolymer solution through a spinneret having an annular orifice defined by a thin central tube while a liquid or gas is being injected into the central tube, and coagulating the extrusion product.

Polymethyl methacrylate membrane

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa-ken, Japan

Takeshi Sonoda