Permeate Flux in Ultrafiltration Membrane: A Review

Membrane processes exist for most of the fluid separations encountered in industry. The most widely used is membrane ultrafiltration, pressure driven process which is capable of separating particles in the approximate size range of 0.001 to 0.1 μm. The design of membrane separation processes, like all other processes, requires quantitative expressions relating material properties to separation performance. The factors controlling the performance of ultrafiltration are extensively reviewed. There have been a number of seminal approaches in this field. Most have been based on the rate limiting effects of the concentration polarization of the separated particles at the membrane surface. Various rigorous, empirical and intuitive models exist, which have been critically assessed in terms of their predictive capability and applicability. The decision as to which of the membrane filtration models is the most correct in predicting permeation rates is a matter of difficulty and appears to depend on the nature of the dispersion to separated.

Purification of Soybean Isoflavones from Soy Sauce Residue by Ultrafiltration

The extraction of soybean isoflavones from the soy sauce residue which is the byproduct of soy sauce process is of great significance to improve the utilization of the soy sauce residue. Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with molecular weight cutoff of 20 kDa was used to purify the extraction of isoflavones. The effects of ultrafiltration pressure, ultrafiltration temperature, feeding velocity, feed concentration and the feed pH on the membrane flux and rejection were analyzed. And then the membrane was cleaned. After purifying the crude soybean isoflavones from the soy sauce reside, the content of isoflavones in the freeze-dried powder was up to 6.27%.

Purification of Ferulic Acid from Wheat by Ultrafiltration Technology

Purification extraction of ferulic acid from wheat bran by using ultrafiltration,based on the molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of ultrafiltration membranes,ultrafiltration pressure,sample concentration,ultrafiltration time these four factors influence of the membrane flux,determine the best the ultrafiltration conditions.

Mechanisms of progressive glomerular injury in membranous nephropathy.

Glomerular function and structure were serially evaluated in 15 patients with membranous nephropathy who exhibited relapsing nephrosis and chronic depression of GFR. GFR declined from 56+/-8 (mean+/-SEM) at onset to 31+/-4 ml/min per 1.73 m2 after a 2- to 5-yr period of observation (P < 0.05). An analysis of filtration dynamics suggested persistent elevation of net ultrafiltration pressure. To examine a possible role for declining intrinsic glomerular filtration capacity as the basis for the observed hypofiltration, glomeruli in the baseline and a repeat biopsy (performed after a median of 28 mo) were subjected to morphometric analysis and mathematical modeling. Analysis of the baseline biopsy revealed a reduction in filtration slit frequency and thickening of the glomerular basement membrane, lowering computed hydraulic permeability by 66% compared with normal kidney donors. In contrast, filtration surface area was increased by 37% as a result of glomerular hypertrophy. The repeat biopsy revealed persistent depression of hydraulic permeability, primarily owing to foot process broadening. An additional finding was a decrease in filtration surface area from baseline in patent glomeruli, possibly due to encroachment on the capillary lumen of an increasingly widened basement membrane. Also, a striking increase in the prevalence of global glomerulosclerosis from 7+/-2% to 23+/-4% was found between the two biopsies, suggesting a significant loss of functioning nephrons. It is concluded that hypofiltration in membranous nephropathy is the consequence of a biphasic loss of glomerular ultrafiltration capacity, initially owing to impaired hydraulic permeability that is later exacerbated by a superimposed loss of functioning glomeruli and of filtration surface area.

Determinants of glomerular hypofiltration in nephrotic patients with minimal change nephropathy.

Physiologic and morphologic techniques were used to elucidate the determinants of the GFR in 25 nephrotic patients with minimal change nephropathy. They were divided into two groups according to the finding of either a normal (Group 1, N = 13) or a depressed (Group 2, N = 12) inulin clearance. RPF, afferent oncotic pressure, and dextran sieving coefficients were determined. Mathematical models of glomerular ultrafiltration were then used to compute likely upper bounds for the ultrafiltration coefficient and pore area/length ratio (a measure of pore density). The upper bounds for each measure of intrinsic ultrafiltration capacity were depressed below estimated normal values in healthy controls by 55 and 47% in Group 1 patients and by 86 and 83% in Group 2 patients with minimal change nephropathy. A corresponding excess of ultrafiltration pressure (versus control), attributable solely to reduced intracapillary oncotic pressure, was by 10.8 and 11.5 mm Hg, respectively. Glomerular morphometry revealed peripheral capillary filtration surface area to be preserved in both minimal change nephropathy groups. However, a significant reduction in filtration slit frequency due to epithelial podocyte broadening correlated with the computed ultrafiltration coefficient across the two minimal change nephropathy groups (r = 0.65; P < 0.001). It was concluded that podocyte deformation invariably lowers the ultrafiltration coefficient and pore area/length ratio in minimal change nephropathy but that an offsetting reduction in intracapillary oncotic pressure prevents the GFR from declining in many cases. However, the models presented here predict that the depression of capillary oncotic pressure is insufficient to compensate when the ultrafiltration coefficient is lowered by substantially more than half and that it is in this circumstance that minimal change nephropathy is most likely to be accompanied by glomerular hypofiltration.

Adsorption of ß2-Microglobulin on Dialysis Membranes: Comparison of Different Dialyzers and Effects of Reuse Procedures

In order to measure ß2-microglobulin adsorption on dialysis membranes, uremic plasma was passed through different dialyzers in a simulated hemodialysis circuit in which both plasma and dialysate compartments were organized as closed loops, the ultrafiltration pressure being adjusted to minimize water shifts. Under these conditions, comparison of the amounts of ß2-m in the plasma and dialysate compartments allowed us to calculate the binding of ß2-m to the membrane at different times of the procedure. Whereas cuprophane membrane (Gambro gf 180m, 1.8m2) did not bind ß2-m, AN69 (Filtral, 1.1 m2), high flux polysulfone (F60, 1.2m2) and modified polyamide (Polyflux 130, Gambro, 1.3m2) were found to adsorb 49 ± 8 mg (mean ± SEM), 17 ± 5 mg and 38 ± 4 mg of 82-m, respectively. These data were confirmed in trace labeling experiments with 125I-ß2-m. Adsorption was a saturable phenomenon occurring during the first 90 min of in vitro dialysis. After reuse with peracetic acid, the adsorption capacity of AN69 membrane was lowered to 20 ± 4 mg of ß2-m, contrasting with the unchanged adsorption after reuse with sodium hypochlorite. These data indicate that adsorption significantly contributes to ß2-m removal during hemodialysis with certain dialyzers and that reuse procedures may affect the propensity of dialysis membranes to bind 82-m.

Glomerular dynamics in the hypothyroid rat and the role of the renin-angiotensin system

Munich-Wistar rats underwent thyroidectomy (TX) with reimplantation of the parathyroid glands. Systemic hemodynamic and micropuncture studies were performed at 1 and 3 wk post-TX, and the results were compared with levothyroxine replaced controls (TXT4). Cardiac output (CO) in TX rats fell progressively and was 40% of that in TXT4 at 3 wk. Renal blood flow declined in parallel with CO. Systemic blood pressure did not fall in TX rats because of a 50% increase in systemic vascular resistance by 3 wk post-TX. Glomerular dynamics were not significantly different between TX and TXT4 rats at 1 wk; however, by 3 wk single-nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) had fallen to 16.5 +/- 1.1 vs. 34.1 +/- 3.4 nl/min in TXT4 controls (P less than 0.001). In 3-wk TX rats, glomerular plasma flow (QA) was 50.9 +/- 3.7 vs. 108.0 +/- 8.7 nl/min in TXT4 rats (P less than 0.001), net hydraulic ultrafiltration pressure (delta P) was 33 +/- 2 vs. 37 +/- 1 mmHg in TXT4 rats (P less than 0.01), and the ultrafiltration coefficient (Kf) was 0.025 +/- 0.003 vs. 0.084 +/- 0.008 nl X s-1 X mmHg-1 in TXT4 controls (P less than 0.001). Although the changes in systemic and glomerular hemodynamics were progressive over 3 wk, proximal tubular reabsorption fell maximally within 1 wk. Similar patterns of alterations in glomerular dynamics are known physiological consequences of angiotensin II (ANG II).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)