Plasma fractionation by dead-end membrane filtration: effects of membrane properties and plasma flux.

Plasma fractionation by membrane filtration permits the reinfusion of the patient with his own albumin. In this study, the influence of membrane nature and plasma flux on plasma fractionation in dead-end mode is investigated with acetate hollow fiber filters. It is found that transmembrane pressure TMP rises exponentially with time, the rate of increase being proportional to plasma flux. The faster TMP rises, the faster the drop in sieving coefficient SC. It is also found that albumin SC is a function of TMP and not of plasma flux. Theoretical analysis of the dead-end filtration was performed. This theoretical model indicates that the observed variation of TMP with time is consistent with the assumptions that pore volume decreases proportionally to the filtrate plasma volume.