Zirconia encrusted ceramic composite membrane for uremic toxins removal: Fabrication and assessment of biocompatibility

• Published in: Chemical engineering and processing 2024-12, Vol.206, p.110048, Article 110048
• Main Authors: M, Roshni, G, Pugazhenthi, D, Vasanth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Composite; Hemofiltration; Uremic toxins; Zirconia
• ISSN: 0255-2701
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cep.2024.110048

•Zirconia encrusted composite membrane was developed using spray pyrolysis.•The membrane showed excellent biocompatibility with good antifouling nature.•The membrane showed excellent uremic toxins removal with high protein retention. In this study, tubular zirconia composite membranes (ZM1-ZM3) were developed using low-cost tubular substrate which was prepared utilizing naturally available clay materials by an extrusion approach. The zirconia nanoparticles were encrusted on a low-cost tubular substrate using spray pyrolysis technique. The membranes were investigated for their biocompatibility in addition to pore size, chemical stability, water permeability, porosity, contact angle, thermogravimetric (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Water permeability, pore size and porosity of optimized membrane (ZM3) were 3.05 × 10–4 ± 0.03 L.m-2.h-1.Pa-1, 119 ± 0.57 nm and 36 ± 0.12 %, respectively. Platelets adhesion and protein adsorption were measured to be 4630 ± 46 platelets.mm-2, and 1.05 ± 0.02 μg.cm-2 respectively, while the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) were 80 ± 0.51 s and 27 ± 0.26 s, respectively. Complement activation C3 and C4 concentrations were assessed to be 76.2 ± 0.88 mg.dL-1 and 21.57 ± 0.80 mg.dL-1, respectively and hemolysis ratio was 0.31 ± 0.01 %. Moreover, the membrane had a considerable antifouling nature with a flux recovery ratio of 89.22 ± 0.58 %. Protein retention was found to be 81.14 ± 0.58 %, in addition to outstanding sieving coefficients of uremic toxins like urea (0.95 ± 0.005), creatinine (0.93 ± 0.004), and phosphate (0.90 ± 0.004). These findings suggest that the produced tubular zirconia composite membrane has the potency for hemofiltration. [Display omitted]