Chemistry in a spinneret—Polydopamine functionalized hollow fiber membranes

In recent years, dopamine has stood out as an all-round talent in the field of membrane modification. Membranes post-modified with polydopamine or made out of materials pre-modified with polydopamine show applicability in almost all membrane processes. These approaches have in common that they require additional fabrication steps to accomplish the final membrane product. In this study, the first part presents the post-modification of hollow fiber membrane modules with polydopamine. The resulting coated membranes suit further functionalization and exhibit excellent properties. The successful coating of commercial dialysis membranes with polydopamine and heparin while maintaining their selectivities for proteins present in human blood is highlighted in this work. Further and most importantly, membranes are successfully in-situ modified with polydopamine using the ’chemistry-in-a-spinneret’ technology base. Flat sheet and hollow fiber membranes with polydopamine modification evolve in a single-step process. The polydopamine functionalized membranes exhibit increased anti-fouling properties and bind heparin on their surface. The ’chemistry-in-a-spinneret’ approach fabricates directly polydopamine-functionalized membranes. These membranes have promising properties for application in the field of hemodialysis and pave the way for applications in other membrane processes.