Cellulose membranes are more effective in holding back vital proteins and exhibit less interaction with plasma proteins during hemodialysis.

The vast majority of patients with end-stage renal disease are treated with intermittent hemodialysis as a form of renal replacement therapy. To investigate the impact of hemodialysis membrane material on vital protein removal, dialysates from 26 well-characterized hemodialysis patients were collected 5 min after beginning, during 5 h of treatment, as well as 5 min before ending of the dialysis sessions. Dialysis sessions were performed using either modified cellulose (n=12) (lowflux and high flux) or synthetic Polyflux (n=14) (low-flux and highflux) dialyzer. Protein removal during hemodialysis was quantified and the dialysate proteome patterns were analyzed by 2-DE, MS and Westernblot.