The effect of covalently bonded conjugated linoleic acid on the reduction of oxidative stress and blood coagulation for polysulfone hemodialyzer membrane

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was covalently bonded to a layer of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) grafted onto the surface of polysulfone (PSF) membranes. The effect of CLA-bonding on oxidative stress and blood coagulation was then evaluated. The surface was characterized with contact angle measurement and FTIR spectroscopy. Blood coagulation, platelet aggregation, and oxidative stress were evaluated using human blood. The complete blood count (CBC) and coagulation time (CT) were evaluated in vitro for hemocompatibility. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by the chemiluminescence (CL) method to evaluate the oxidative stress. The results showed that the CLA-bonding PSF membrane exhibited more stable CBC values, longer CT, and less adsorption of plasma proteins than the unmodified PSF membrane. In addition, the CL counts of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide values for CLA-bonding PSF membrane were more stable than for unmodified PSF membrane. These results demonstrate that CLA-bonding can improve the blood compatibility of PSF membrane. The CLA-bonding PSF membrane could offer protection for patients against oxidative stress and could also reduce the dosage of anticoagulant required during hemodialysis.