Synergistic silica and fluorosilane surface modification of poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) hollow fiber membranes with improved hemocompatibility for membrane oxygenation

Plasma leakage and thrombosis remain critical challenges limiting the long-term performance of poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) (PMP) hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). In this work, a hierarchical hydrophobic modification strategy was developed to construct a stable anti-wetting interface on PMP HFMs. Surface hydroxyl groups were first generated via Fenton-induced oxidation, followed by interfacial coupling with trimesoyl chloride (TMC). Subsequently, SiO 2 nanoparticles were grafted to create a micro/nano-structured rough surface, and further modified with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (17-FAS) to reduce surface energy. Under the optimized conditions (120 min Fenton pre-treatment, 60 min TMC reaction, and 0.1% (mass) SiO 2 nanoparticles), the modified PMP–SiO 2 /17-FAS membrane exhibited a high N 2 flux of 54.1 ml·cm –2 ·min –1 ·MPa –1 , while the plasma leakage resistance time was significantly prolonged from 5910 to 8775 min. In addition, bovine serum albumin adsorption was reduced by approximately 50%, indicating enhanced antifouling performance. Coagulation tests further revealed a selective prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time, while prothrombin time, thrombin time, and international normalized ratio remained nearly unchanged, suggesting suppressed contact-induced coagulation activation without disturbing normal coagulation pathways. The enhanced performance could be attributed to the synergistic effect of micro/nano-structured roughness and the fluorinated low-surface-energy layer, which stabilizes a non-wetting interfacial state and reduces protein-surface interactions. This work provides a feasible strategy for simultaneously improving plasma leakage resistance and hemocompatibility of PMP-based oxygenation membranes. Download: Download high-res image (297KB) Download: Download full-size image