A superhydrophilic PEGDA-coated PBT membrane prepared by photoinitiated polymerization for hemodialysis therapy

Conventional hydrophobic hemodialysis membranes risk exacerbating patient conditions through thrombosis induction during dialysis procedures, while current systemic anticoagulation strategies face a critical dilemma between insufficient heparinization and heparin overdose. This necessitates urgent development of superhydrophilic modification strategies for dialysis membranes. Here we report a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) coating strategy that imparts extreme hydrophilicity to hydrophobic poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) dialysis membranes <i>via</i> polymerization of PEGDA, leveraging its highly hydratable ether bonds. At 4% PEGDA, the modified PBT membrane achieved rapid surface hydration. This hydrophilicity optimization concurrently reduced protein adsorption by 82.30% and enhanced permeability flux by 13.37%. Furthermore, PEGDA modification can partially cover the pores, refining dialysis performance. The modified PEGDA-<i>X</i> membranes retained exceptional biosafety and stability. Notably, this superhydrophilic modification strategy has great potential for performance optimization in hemodialysis, potentially overcoming thrombogenic and inflammatory limitations of conventional membranes.