Comparison of polymer, glucose, and hydrostatic pressure induced ultrafiltration in a hollow fiber dialyzer: effects on convective solute transport.

Ultrafiltration induced by (1) poly(sodium acrylate), (2) glucose, and (3) hydrostatic pressure was studied in a hollow fiber dialyzer. Poly(sodium acrylate) added to dialysate induced large amounts of ultrafiltration without crossing the dialyzer membrane. Sodium ions of the acrylate polymer were osmotically active but were held in dialysate by the impermeant anionic polymer. The hydrostatic pressure equivalent of osmotic pressure induced primarily by the sodium ions approximated that predicted for a completely impermeant molecule. The apparent (net) sieving coefficients for vitamin B12 observed during polymer and hydrostatic ultrafiltration studies were both significantly higher than that observed during glucose ultrafiltration but did not differ from each other. These studies suggest that sodium salts of polyanions can provide an osmotic driving force to yield large amounts of ultrafiltration in dialysis systems and yet not cross the membrane. The studies also suggest that relatively less efficient convective transport with glucose as compared to hydrostatic pressure is neither a membrane phenomenon nor a characteristic of all osmotic pressure induced ultrafiltration. Relatively low effective solute sieving appears to be associated with osmotic induced ultrafiltration with a permeant solute. Under such conditions it is proposed that molecular interaction within the membrane impairs convective transport.