Objective: To demonstrate the adsorption of heparin by hemophan and investigate the related factors influencing the adsorbent quantity in attempting to provide theoretical evidence for the clinical application of heparin-free hemodialysis.
Methods: The amount of heparin adsorbed by hemophan was obtained by calculating the decrease of heparin concentration before and after circulated in the dialyzer for 25 minutes. Heparin concentration in the circulating solution was measured by using HPLC. In addition, samples taken from the naturally dried hemophan dialyzer were also undergone X-ray photoelectronic spectrometric analysis. The adsorption time and the dosage of heparin were considered as factors influencing the amount of heparin adsorption.
Results: A special sulfur peak occurred in the samples taken from heparin circulated hemophan dialyzer, while it did not appear in unused control, demonstrated that the hemophan membrane had a good capacity to adsorbed heparin. The mean adsorbent values in new dialyzer and those reused one or twice were 31.9 mg and 40.6 mg respectively. The adsorbent quantity was increased as the dose of heparin and adsorption time were increased.
Conclusion: The hemophan membrane is able to adsorb heparin, thus bring forth strong evidence for the clinical application of heparin-free hemodialysis.