COF-5/Pebax mixed-matrix membranes with enhanced CO2 removal ability for ECCO2R system

Extracorporeal CO 2 removal (ECCO 2 R) is a type of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) technology. It aims to remove carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from small flow of the blood and correct hypercapnia and related acidosis. The ECCO 2 R system removes CO 2 retained in the patient’s body through the gas-blood exchange membranes, which in use, blood flows on the outside of the membrane, and the inside of the membrane is for gas flow. Existing ECCO 2 R system generally improves the emission rate of CO 2 by the increase of the gas flow rate. However, there is a problem that O 2 is simultaneously taken out, which will reduce the blood O 2 concentration. Therefore, the gas-blood exchange membranes should not only increase the CO 2 removal rate by the improvement of CO 2 /O 2 selectivity, but also retain more O 2 in the blood and then maintain the oxygen saturation of the blood. In present work, a method was proposed to fabricate COF-5/Pebax mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) on the PMP surface for enhancing CO 2 /O 2 selectivity, which was increased from 0.96 to 5.57. The CO 2 removal ability of COF-5/Pebax MMM was tested by blood circulation, and it was found that the CO 2 removal effect was increased 10.9% than that of the pristine membranes. The O 2 concentration was maintained at a higher level, about 1.69 times that of the pristine membranes. In contrast to the pristine PMP membrane, blood compatibility of COF-5/Pebax MMMs was improved because protein adhesion decreased by 44.75%. The results of cytotoxicity test and rabbit pyrogen test exhibited that the prepared COF-5/Pebax MMM presented great biosafety. Overall, the proposed COF-5/Pebax MMM has good performance in ECCO 2 R system and attractive potential for medical application.