Exploration of modified Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM) for extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO)

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is the most important supporting therapy to rescue patients with respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), for which the membrane oxygenator offers a place for CO 2 and O 2 exchange. Although Poly (4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) has been extensively used as ECMO material, the problems of protein adsorption fouling and the need for anticoagulation remain challenging for clinical applications. Additionally, the challenges associated with the functional modification of PMP material underscore the importance of finding a new material with excellent gas permeability and blood compatibility. On the other hand, Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM) has been extensively studied in the field of gas separation due to their unique twisted helical structure and high free volume. However, its hydrophobic nature also raises concerns about its anti-fouling ability and hemocompatibility, which restricts the exploration of PIM in ECMO applications. Herein, we modify the PIM-1 membrane and study the hemocompatibility of PIM-1, carboxylated-PIM-1, and amidoxime-functionalized-PIM-1, and explore their gas permeability by molecular dynamics simulation and experimental verification. The modified PIM membranes exhibit remarkable comprehensive performance, including effective anti-protein adhesion and hemocompatibility, high oxygen permeability, and CO 2 removal rate. Blood oxygenation tests also reveal that the modified membranes prepared in this work fully meet practical requirements, exhibiting great application potential.