MOSCOW, 30 Aug. Tomsk Polytechnic scientists have developed the first domestic membranes for blood purification. They are designed for mobile filters and can be used in emergency situations. According to researchers, the new membranes efficiently remove leukocytes from donor blood components and work more efficiently than existing foreign analogues. The development was successfully tested at the Kirov Research Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia, the TPU press service reported.
Leukofiltration is a mandatory procedure to increase the safety of transfused blood. The fact is that the donor's leukocytes can cause unwanted immune reactions in the patient. Therefore, at blood transfusion stations, donor blood undergoes rather lengthy and expensive processing using special devices.
Scientists from the Research School of Chemical and Biomedical Technologies of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) have developed import-substituting membranes for mobile filters. Passing blood through such mobile filters is an alternative way to purify it. It is especially relevant when it is necessary to conduct an emergency blood transfusion in the field.
Membranes are the key element of the filter. They are special composites laid in layers with a microporous structure that ensures blood filtration. Passing through the membranes, leukocytes are retained due to the size of the pores and the electrical charge on the surface of the fibers.
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The technology for producing new membranes is completely domestic. They are created from domestic polymers using domestic equipment — a unique multi-channel electrospinning system developed by scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University with the support of the federal program of the Ministry of Education and Science «Priority-2030». The installation allows the production of complex filters with high quality characteristics.
«»The membranes developed at the university are 40% more efficient than their Japanese counterparts, which are a recognized standard. That is, with less thickness and fewer layers, they filter blood with the same efficiency as imported products. This property of the membranes has a good effect on filter performance and speed his work. The thinner the size of the filter element, the greater the amount of blood it allows,» said project leader, senior researcher at the TPU Research School of Chemical and Biomedical Technologies Evgeniy Bolbasov.
As the university emphasized, for the university, the successful implementation of the project to develop leukocyte filters is not only an opportunity to transform a rich theoretical basis into the field of practical solutions that are in demand by enterprises in the real sector of the economy.
» This is also a unique point of growth, thanks to which our students and graduate students are actively involved in research, learning to interact with industrial companies, promptly responding to their requests,” concluded Marina Trusova, director of the TPU Research School of Chemical and Biomedical Technologies.