JP2006288415A - Bundle of polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane and hemocatharsis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bundle of polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane which exhibits a high degree of safety and stability of performance and is particularly suitable for a hemocatharsis apparatus or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The bundle of polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane containing polyvinylpyrrolidone satisfies the following characteristics at the same time: (1) Elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone from the bundle of hollow fiber membrane is 10 ppm or less; (2) When the bundle of the hollow fiber membrane is divided into ten in the direction of its length and tests established by the manufacturing license standard of dialysis type artificial kidney apparatus are conducted for each of the sections, the amount of elution of hydrogen peroxide in an obtained extract is 5 ppm or less for all the sections; (3) The thickness of the hollow fiber membrane is 10-60 μm and the yield elongation percentage of single yarn is 5.0% or less; and (4) The hollow fiber membrane is provided with crimps of wavelength of 10 mm or more and of amplitude of 0.2 mm or more. The hemocatharsis apparatus is filled with the above permselective hollow fiber membrane. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle that is highly safe and stable in performance and particularly suitable for blood purifiers and the like, and a blood purifier for the purpose of removing blood waste products by extracorporeal circulation.

  In blood purification therapy for the treatment of renal failure, for the purpose of removing urine toxins and waste products in the blood, cellulose is a natural material, and its derivatives are cellulose diacetate and cellulose triacetate. Blood purifiers such as hemodialyzers, hemofilters or hemodialyzers using a dialysis membrane using a polymer such as methyl methacrylate or polyacrylonitrile or an ultrafiltration membrane as a separating material are widely used. In particular, blood purifiers that use hollow fiber membranes as separation materials are used in the dialyzer field because of their advantages such as reducing the volume of extracorporeal blood circulation, increasing the efficiency of removing substances in the blood, and productivity during blood purifier production. Is highly important.

  Among the above-mentioned membrane materials, polysulfone-based resins having high water permeability are attracting attention as the best match with the progress of dialysis technology. However, when a semi-permeable membrane is made of polysulfone alone, the polysulfone resin is hydrophobic, so it has poor affinity with blood and causes an airlock phenomenon. Can not.

As a method for solving the above-described problems, a method has been proposed in which a hydrophilic polymer is blended with a polysulfone-based resin to form a film, thereby imparting hydrophilicity to the film. For example, a method of blending a polyhydric alcohol such as polyethylene glycol is disclosed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-61-232860 JP 58-114702 A

Moreover, the method of mix | blending polyvinylpyrrolidone is disclosed (for example, refer patent document 3, 4).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-54373 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-75667

  However, since such a material is a synthetic material, it is recognized as a foreign substance by a living body, and various biological reactions occur. For example, when it comes into contact with blood, adhesion of platelets or activation of white blood cells may occur, resulting in poor blood compatibility.

As a measure for solving the above problems, a method using polyvinylpyrrolidone as a hydrophilic polymer has attracted attention from the viewpoint of safety and economy. However, in the hydrophilization technique by blending polyvinyl pyrrolidone, there arises a problem that polyvinyl pyrrolidone is eluted and mixed in purified blood during dialysis. When elution of the hydrophilic polymer increases, the hydrophilic polymer, which is a foreign substance taken up by the human body, increases in the body during long-term dialysis and may cause side effects and complications. Therefore, the elution amount of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone and the like is determined by the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard. In the dialysis type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard, it is quantified by UV absorbance. Techniques have been disclosed for determining the effect of elution control based on the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval criteria (see, for example, Patent Documents 5 to 7). Patent Document 8 discloses a semipermeable membrane for blood treatment in which the elution amount of hydrophilic polymer from the semipermeable membrane is 10 ppm or less. This document discloses a technique for suppressing elution of a hydrophilic polymer from a semipermeable membrane for blood treatment, but it is a process related to deterioration / degradation of the hydrophilic polymer over time, which extends to storage of a hollow fiber membrane. No mention is made of the effects of hydrogen oxide.
Japanese Patent No. 3314861 JP-A-6-165926 JP 2000-350926 A JP 2001-170171 A

As a result of detailed studies on the elution behavior of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone, the present inventors have found that the extract extracted by the test method defined by the above dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval criteria contains a conventionally known UV absorbance. Then, it was found that hydrogen peroxide that cannot be measured was included. When hydrogen peroxide is present in the blood purifier and in the selectively permeable separation membrane, for example, it promotes oxidative degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone, and the storage stability that the elution amount of the polyvinylpyrrolidone increases when the hollow fiber membrane bundle is stored. I found out that it gets worse. However, in the above-mentioned patent document, a technique for suppressing elution of hydrophilic polymer from a semipermeable membrane for blood treatment is disclosed. However, degradation of hydrophilic polymer over time extending to storage of a hollow fiber membrane. No mention is made of the effect of hydrogen peroxide on decomposition.

  Furthermore, in the prior arts disclosed in Patent Documents 5 to 8 described above, all have been evaluated for specific portions of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. Actually, when the treatment such as drying the hollow fiber membrane bundle is performed in the blood purifier assembly or the like, it has been found that the above-mentioned elution amount largely fluctuates in the hollow fiber membrane bundle due to the influence of the fluctuation of the drying conditions. However, the evaluation of only the specific part cannot answer the high safety requirement. In particular, when hydrogen peroxide as clarified by the present inventors is present in a specific part of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, the deterioration reaction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle material is started from that point and propagates to the entire hollow fiber membrane bundle. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the amount of the hollow fiber membrane bundle used in the blood purification device in the longitudinal direction is below a certain amount over the entire region.

  On the other hand, in a blood purifier, radiation irradiation treatment may be performed for the purpose of crosslinking or sterilizing polyvinyl pyrrolidone in a selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane filled in the blood purifier. However, when irradiated, modification may be caused to a part of the hydrophilic polymer in addition to the crosslinking reaction and sterilization effect. That is, it reacts with water or oxygen in the processing atmosphere to generate an unstable functional group or partial structure in an oxidized state, or a new functional group is generated by hydrolysis. These effects on blood are not negligible because most of the hydrophilic polymer content in the whole membrane is concentrated on the polysulfone surface by phase separation even if it is small. As a result, the anti-thrombogenicity of the membrane may be reduced due to physicochemical changes in these modified parts. In addition, denaturation continued during long-term storage after irradiation, and the antithrombogenicity could be reduced before actual use.

For example, as a method for solving the above problems, in a film irradiated with radiation, if the carboxyl group content and the peroxide content in the film are controlled within a certain range, the film is excellent in antithrombogenicity and stored for a long time. However, a technique capable of maintaining an antithrombotic state is disclosed (see Patent Document 9).
JP 2000-135421 A

  However, the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document is a method applied to a so-called wet type blood purifier irradiated with water in a state of water filling. The wet type blood purifier is naturally heavy due to water filling, and is inconvenient to transport and handle. In cold regions, the water filled in the blood purifier freezes in the severe cold season and the hollow fiber membrane ruptures. And problems such as damage. In addition, there are high cost factors such as preparation of a large amount of sterilized water. Moreover, in order to make the hollow fiber membrane both moist and easy for bacteria to propagate, it is conceivable that the bacteria will proliferate during a short period after packaging until sterilization. As a result, the blood purifier produced in this manner is not preferable because it takes a long time to obtain a completely sterilized state, which leads to higher cost or safety. This technique is irradiated with radiation in the presence of a radical scavenger and has a problem that an operation for washing and removing the radical scavenger in advance is necessary when used for blood purification. Therefore, the establishment of a so-called dry-type blood purifier loaded with a dry permeable hollow fiber membrane and capable of avoiding the above-described problems even when irradiated with radiation in the absence of a radical scavenger is strongly desired. Has been.

  In addition, the blood purifier needs to be completely sterilized before use. For the sterilization treatment, formalin, ethylene oxide gas, high-pressure steam sterilization, γ-ray radiation or electron beam irradiation sterilization methods, and the like are used, each exhibiting a unique effect. Among these, the sterilization method by radiation or electron beam irradiation is adopted as a preferable sterilization method because it can process the object to be processed in a packaged state and has an excellent sterilization effect.

However, it is known that hollow fiber membranes used in blood purifiers and adhesives used for fixing the hollow fiber membranes are deteriorated by radiation irradiation, and a method of sterilizing while preventing deterioration. Has been proposed. For example, a method for suppressing deterioration of the hollow fiber membrane by γ-ray irradiation by making the hollow fiber membrane in a wet state with a saturated moisture content or higher is disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 10). However, this method has the same problem as that of Patent Document 9.
Japanese Patent Publication No.55-23620

As a method for avoiding the above-mentioned wet state and suppressing deterioration due to radiation irradiation, a method is disclosed in which a sterilizing protective agent such as glycerin or polyethylene glycol is contained in the hollow fiber membrane and γ-ray irradiation is performed in a dry state ( For example, see Patent Document 11). However, since this method contains a protective agent in the hollow fiber membrane, it is difficult to keep the water content of the hollow fiber membrane low, and the problem of deterioration of the protective agent due to γ-ray irradiation and the protective agent immediately before use are difficult. There was a problem that it took time and effort to clean and remove.
JP-A-8-168524

As a method for solving the above problems, in a dialyzer containing a semipermeable membrane, 100% or more of water is held with respect to the weight of the semipermeable membrane, and the inside of the dialyzer is made an inert gas atmosphere. A method of manufacturing a dialyzer that performs γ-ray irradiation is disclosed (see Patent Document 12). However, there is no mention of the characteristics that the hollow fiber membrane should have before irradiation with radiation and the influence on the priming property of the hollow fiber membrane due to the irradiation of radiation.
JP 2001-170167 A

Further, as a method for solving the above problems, a method of sterilizing by irradiating with radiation in a state where the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane is 5% or less and the relative humidity near the hollow fiber membrane is 40% or less is disclosed. Yes. (For example, refer to Patent Document 13). In the method, the above-mentioned problems have been solved, and the ultraviolet absorbance at a wavelength of 220 to 350 nm measured in accordance with the dialysis membrane elution test of the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard satisfies the standard value of less than 0.1. ing. However, in Patent Document 13, there is no mention of the influence of the oxygen concentration around the hollow fiber membrane during sterilization, the change in the amount of eluate after sterilization, and the like.
JP 2000-288085 A

Moreover, in the method of performing sterilization by γ-ray irradiation, a method for achieving that the insolubilized component of the membrane material is 10 wt% or less by performing γ-ray irradiation in a state where the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane is 10 wt% or less is disclosed. Has been. (For example, refer to Patent Document 14). The patent document discloses that the amount of the hydrophilic polymer per 1 m ^{2 of the} liquid contact side area of the membrane extracted with a 40% ethanol aqueous solution can be 2.0 mg / m ² or less. However, even in this patent document, there is no influence on the influence of the oxygen concentration around the hollow fiber membrane when γ-irradiation is performed, on the change in the amount of eluate after sterilization, or on the priming property of sterilization. Not mentioned.
JP 2001-205057 A

Further, as a method for avoiding deterioration of the base material of the medical device due to oxygen, a method of sealing the medical device together with an oxygen scavenger with a packaging material made of an oxygen-impermeable material and performing radiation irradiation is known. Is also disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 15 to 17).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-74364 JP-A-62-204754 WO98 / 58842 publication

  As the deterioration in radiation irradiation using the oxygen scavenger described above, in Patent Document 15, odor is generated, in Patent Document 16, the strength of the base material and the dialysis performance are decreased, and in Patent Document 17, the strength of the base material is decreased. Although the occurrence of sucrose has been described, there is no mention of the increase in the amount of extract described above. Moreover, although oxygen concentration in the packaging bag at the time of radiation irradiation is described, nothing is mentioned about the importance of moisture in the hollow fiber membrane.

  Furthermore, as the material of the packaging bag used for the method of radiation sterilization in the above-mentioned system using an oxygen scavenger, the importance of gas, especially oxygen impermeability is described, but regarding water vapor permeability, Not mentioned.

Also disclosed is a method of radiation sterilizing a liquid processing device filled with a film protective agent in a wet or semi-wet shape in an inert gas atmosphere (see, for example, Patent Document 18). In this patent document, a method of using an oxygen scavenger as an achievement means for creating an inert gas atmosphere is disclosed. In addition, water is listed as a film protective agent. On the other hand, although the lower limit of the moisture content in the semi-wet state is not mentioned, the problem to be solved by the invention is that “glycerin, physiological saline or water oozes out and the inside wall of the liquid processor and the inside of the packaging bag There was a problem of adhering to the hand and adhering to the hand during the operation of the liquid processing apparatus, ”suggesting that the water content is higher than the saturated water content. Therefore, it can be regarded as a technique having the same problem as in Patent Document 10.
JP-A-8-280795

In order to maintain the sterilization effect for a long time, a method of sterilizing a dry type hollow fiber membrane blood purifier by vacuum packaging and irradiating with γ rays has been disclosed (see Patent Document 19). However, no consideration is given to the deterioration of the hollow fiber membrane during γ-ray irradiation or storage. In addition, no mention is made regarding the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane.
JP 2001-149471 A

Further, it is disclosed that the amount of peroxide in the hollow fiber membrane is increased by irradiating the dried hollow fiber membrane with γ rays compared to the irradiation in the wet state. No mention is made of a method for suppressing the formation of peroxides during irradiation (see Patent Document 20).
JP 2000-135421 A

  Furthermore, in the method of suppressing the elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the production of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane used for blood purification treatment as described above, or the method of irradiating radiation such as γ rays for sterilization, the hollow fiber at the time of irradiation Although some have been disclosed regarding the moisture content of the membrane and the irradiation atmosphere conditions, mention is made of the properties that the hollow fiber membrane should have before irradiation and the influence of the irradiation on the priming property of the hollow fiber membrane. Not.

Further, a liquid separation membrane blood purifier packaged with a film having a specific composition with suppressed air permeability and a storage method for the liquid separation membrane blood purifier used in various industrial water treatments are disclosed. (See Patent Document 21). The method relates to a package in a wet state in which a package is filled with deoxygenated water having a specific dissolved oxygen concentration, and a storage method.
JP 2004-195380 A

Moreover, in the drying of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a method of drying by irradiating with microwaves is disclosed. However, in this patent document, the generation of hydrogen peroxide during drying and the storage stability of the dried hollow fiber membrane bundle are disclosed. No consideration is given to sex (for example, see Patent Documents 22 to 25).
JP 2003-175320 A JP 2003-175321 A JP 2003-175322 A JP 2004-305997 A

On the other hand, in recent years, the demand for blood purifiers has also been diversified and advanced, and for example, there has been a demand for small and high-performance blood purifiers due to demands for handling and transportation costs. In order to respond to these requirements, a technique relating to a blood treatment device that specifies the effective length of the hollow fiber membrane, the inner diameter of the hollow fiber membrane, the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane, the bovine blood permeability coefficient and the pure water filtration coefficient has been disclosed (patent) Reference 26).
JP 2002-143298 A

  In order to promote downsizing, it is necessary to reduce the diameter of the hollow fiber membrane and reduce the membrane thickness. Reducing the diameter of the hollow fiber membrane increases the pressure applied to the hollow fiber membrane during dialysis. On the other hand, reducing the membrane thickness leads to a decrease in pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane. Therefore, in order to meet the demand for miniaturization, it is necessary to improve the pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane. In particular, since the blood purifier is treated for a long time, not only the initial pressure resistance but also the pressure resistance reliability including the durability of the pressure resistance is required.

  In addition, in order to reduce the size, the number of hollow fiber membranes focused in the blood purifier container is increased. However, when the number of the hollow fiber membranes focused in the blood purifier container is increased, the membrane performance is lowered due to the decrease in effective membrane area and the occurrence of drift due to the close contact between the hollow fiber membranes, and in particular, small molecular weight substances such as urea. It is known to cause a decrease in permeation performance.

  The technique disclosed in the above patent document is an effective method for promoting the downsizing of the blood purifier, but is caused by the reliability with respect to the pressure resistance, which is the necessary characteristic required for downsizing, and downsizing. No consideration has been given to the reduction of the effective membrane area due to the close contact between the hollow fiber membranes or the membrane performance due to the occurrence of drift.

  Various bulky processes are performed for the purpose of preventing adhesion and drift of the hollow fiber membranes. Among them, a method of directly bulking the hollow fiber is preferable in that the decrease in the effective area of the membrane is the least.

As a method of performing bulk processing directly on the hollow fiber membrane, 3 or more and 10 or less hollow fiber membranes after spinning, coagulation, washing, glycerin treatment and drying are combined and wound around a bobbin at a crossing angle of 5 degrees or more. A method of applying a crimp by taking a heat treatment at a temperature of 60 ° C. to 200 ° C. is disclosed. (For example, see Patent Document 27). Also proposed is a method of immobilizing a crimp by applying a crimp to a hollow fiber membrane in a non-dry state and then heat-treating the hollow fiber membrane to which the crimp has been applied in a non-dry state (for example, see Patent Document 28). However, in any case, after winding around a bobbin or the like to impart a crimp, heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 50 ° C. or more to fix the crimp. In such a method, the crimp cannot be fixed while the hollow fiber is running, and at the same time, the wavelength and amplitude of the crimp strongly correlate with the thermal characteristics of the hollow fiber and can hardly be controlled. Is as small as 0.15 mm or less and the wavelength is 10 mm or less. Furthermore, since the crimp is fixed by heat treatment, there is a problem that a hydrophilic polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone is decomposed and the amount of elution of PVP is increased.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-42022 JP-A-8-10322

Further, although a method using a gear (for example, see Patent Document 29) has been proposed as a means for applying crimp at room temperature, it is effective as a method for applying crimp to a film having a large film thickness and high yarn strength. However, when it is applied to a membrane having a thin film thickness and low yarn strength, the yarn is crushed, not only in terms of quality, but also cannot exhibit the performance as a hollow fiber membrane.
JP-A-9-21024

As a method for solving the above-described problem, a method is disclosed in which crimping is performed by meandering a plurality of continuously supplied hollow fiber membrane rows between yarn guides that travel at regular intervals (patent) Reference 30). In this method, the hollow fiber membrane is separated by a separating plate in the crimping step, and crimping is applied. Therefore, there is a possibility that the hollow fiber membrane bundle is damaged by rubbing with the separating plate, and the reliability of the pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane is lowered. In this method, crimping is performed on the dried hollow fiber membrane. Dry hollow fiber membranes are prone to static electricity due to contact with members during running, increasing the entanglement of the hollow fiber membranes due to static electricity, and increasing the occurrence of scratches with the separating plate and between the hollow fiber membranes. And, it has the subject that it leads to the reliability fall of the pressure resistance of a hollow fiber membrane.
JP 2003-275549 A

Also disclosed is a hollow fiber membrane that imparts a crimp of a specific wavelength to a hollow fiber membrane having specific characteristics and specifies the proportion of deformation defect yarns such as flat yarns, deformed yarns, and closing yarns generated in the crimping step. (See Patent Documents 31 and 32). However, in these techniques, no consideration is given to the suppression of the deterioration reaction of the components of the hollow fiber membrane in the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane or in the sterilization process when the hollow fiber membrane is used as a blood purifier.
JP 2002-66274 A JP 2004-243263 A

  The present invention is free from the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, that is, the present invention provides a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle that is highly safe and stable in performance and particularly suitable for use in blood purifiers and the like. There is. The present invention also provides a selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane by radiation irradiation in a blood purifier that is dry type and adapted for miniaturization, even if sterilization treatment by radiation irradiation is performed in the absence of a radical scavenger. Is to provide a blood purifier having excellent long-term storage stability.

The present invention is a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle containing polyvinylpyrrolidone, wherein the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle satisfies the following characteristics at the same time.
(1) The elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is 10 ppm or less.
(2) When the hollow fiber membrane bundle is divided into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction and the test defined by the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard is performed for each part, the hydrogen peroxide elution amount of the obtained extract Is 5 ppm or less at all sites.
(3) The film thickness of the hollow fiber membrane is 10 to 60 μm, and the yield elongation of the single yarn is 5.0% or less.
(4) A crimp having a wavelength of 10 mm or more and an amplitude of 0.2 mm or more is applied to the hollow fiber membrane.
In this case, after the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane is run as a single yarn until the spinning, coagulation and water washing steps, 2-50 single yarns are combined and continuously supplied to the crimping step. It is preferable that crimp is provided by.
In this case, the crimp causes the plurality of hollow fiber membrane rows to which the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membranes are continuously supplied to meander between the yarn guides that run at a constant interval. It is preferable that it is provided.
Moreover, in this case, after the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle is stored at room temperature for 3 months or more, in the extract of the hollow fiber membrane when the test defined by the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard is performed It is preferable that UV (220-350 nm) absorbance is 0.10 or less.
The present invention is also a blood purifier filled with the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle.

The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention has a reduced hydrogen peroxide elution amount, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone when the hollow fiber membrane bundle caused by the hydrogen peroxide is stored for a long period of time. Since deterioration is suppressed, UV (220-350 nm) absorbance, which is a dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard, can be maintained at 0.10 or less even after long-term storage. In addition, since the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention is provided with a crimp, even if the hollow fiber membrane bundle is filled in a blood purifier container at a low density, the dialysate drifts. There is an advantage that is suppressed. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is suitable for a hemodialysis method hollow fiber blood purifier having high water permeability used for the treatment of chronic renal failure.
In addition, since the blood purifier of the present invention is a dry type, there are advantages such as being light, not freezing, and being difficult for bacteria to propagate. Furthermore, in the present invention, even in the dry state and in the absence of a radical scavenger, even if irradiated with radiation, the effect of the conventional technique that the deterioration of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane due to irradiation is suppressed is not achieved. Therefore, the production of hydrogen peroxide due to the deterioration reaction is small, and the blood purifier of the present invention has the advantages of excellent antithrombogenicity and excellent long-term storage stability. For example, the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane loaded in the blood purifier suppresses the generation of hydrogen peroxide even when irradiated with radiation, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone caused by the hydrogen peroxide, etc. Therefore, even if the blood purifier is stored for a long period of time, the maximum value of UV (220-350 nm) absorbance, which is the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard, can be maintained at 0.10 or less. There is an advantage that safety can be secured when the purifier is stored for a long period of time.

で示される繰り返し単位をもつポリスルホン樹脂やポリエーテルスルホン樹脂がポリスルホン系樹脂として広く市販されており、入手も容易なため好ましい。 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
The hollow fiber membrane bundle used in the present invention is characterized in that it is composed of a polysulfone resin containing polyvinylpyrrolidone. The polysulfone resin in the present invention is a general term for resins having a sulfone bond and is not particularly limited.

A polysulfone resin or a polyethersulfone resin having a repeating unit represented by is widely available as a polysulfone resin and is preferable because it is easily available.

  Polyvinyl pyrrolidone used in the present invention is a water-soluble polymer compound obtained by vinyl polymerization of N-vinyl pyrrolidone, “Kollidon” from BASF, “Prasdon” from ISP, and “Pittscall” from Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku. Are commercially available under the trade name “,” and there are products of various molecular weights. In general, it is preferable to use a low molecular weight in terms of imparting hydrophilicity, while a high molecular weight is preferable in terms of reducing the amount of elution, but in accordance with the required characteristics of the hollow fiber membrane bundle of the final product. It is selected appropriately. Those having a single molecular weight may be used, or two or more products having different molecular weights may be mixed and used. Moreover, you may use what refine | purified a commercial product and sharpened molecular weight distribution, for example.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to produce a selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle using polyvinylpyrrolidone having a hydrogen peroxide content of 300 ppm or less. By setting the hydrogen peroxide content in the polyvinylpyrrolidone used as a raw material to 300 ppm or less, the hydrogen peroxide elution amount in the hollow fiber membrane bundle after film formation can be easily suppressed to 5 ppm or less. This is preferable because the quality of the hollow fiber membrane bundle can be stabilized. The hydrogen peroxide content in the polyvinylpyrrolidone used as a raw material is more preferably 250 ppm or less, further preferably 200 ppm or less, and further preferably 150 ppm or less.

  The presence of hydrogen peroxide in the polyvinyl pyrrolidone used as a raw material is considered to trigger the oxidative degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, which increases explosively with the progress of oxidative degradation, and further oxidative degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone. It is thought that it promotes. Therefore, setting the hydrogen peroxide content to 300 ppm or less is the first means for suppressing the oxidative deterioration of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the process of producing a selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane. It is also effective and recommended to take measures to suppress deterioration during transportation and storage of polyvinylpyrrolidone at the raw material stage. For example, it is preferable to use an aluminum foil laminated bag to shield the light and enclose with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, or enclose and store an oxygen scavenger together. In addition, it is preferable that the measurement and preparation when the package is opened and subdivided be performed after inert gas replacement, and the above-mentioned measures are taken for the storage. Also, in the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, it is also recommended as a preferred embodiment to take means such as replacing the inside of the supply tank in the raw material supply system with an inert gas. Moreover, it is not excluded to use polyvinylpyrrolidone in which the amount of hydrogen peroxide is reduced by a recrystallization method or an extraction method.

  The method for producing the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane of the present invention is not limited in any way, but for example, a hollow fiber membrane type that can be produced by a method known in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-300663 is preferable. For example, 16 parts by mass of polyethersulfone (4800P, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) and 5 parts by mass of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (K-90, manufactured by BASF) disclosed in the patent document, 74 parts by mass of dimethylacetamide, 5 parts by mass of water Was dissolved and defoamed as a film-forming solution, and a 50% dimethylacetamide aqueous solution was used as a core solution, and this was simultaneously discharged from the outside and inside of the double-tube orifice, An example is a method in which a hollow fiber membrane is formed in a coagulation bath made of water at 75 ° C., and is washed after washing with water and dried at 60 ° C.

In the present invention, the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained by the above method preferably satisfies the following characteristics at the same time.
(1) The elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is 10 ppm or less.
(2) When the hollow fiber membrane bundle is divided into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction and the test defined by the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard is performed for each part, the hydrogen peroxide elution amount of the obtained extract Is 5 ppm or less at all sites.
(3) The film thickness of the hollow fiber membrane is 10 to 50 μm, and the yield elongation of the single yarn is 5.0% or less.
(4) A crimp having a wavelength of 10 mm or more and an amplitude of 0.2 mm or more is applied to the hollow fiber membrane.

  The content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the membrane with respect to the polysulfone resin in the present invention is not limited as long as it is within a range that can impart sufficient hydrophilicity and high water content to the hollow fiber membrane. It is preferable that pyrrolidone is 1-20 mass%. When the proportion of polyvinyl pyrrolidone relative to the polysulfone resin is too small, the hydrophilicity imparting effect of the membrane may be insufficient. Therefore, the proportion is more preferably 1.5% by mass or more, and 2.0% by mass or more. Is more preferable, and 2.5% by mass or more is even more preferable. On the other hand, when the ratio is too large, the hydrophilicity-imparting effect is saturated, and the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone and / or oxidatively deteriorated material eluted from the membrane increases, and the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone eluted from the membrane described later exceeds 10 ppm. There is a case. Therefore, it is more preferably 18% by mass or less, further preferably 15% by mass or less, still more preferably 13% by mass or less, and particularly preferably 10% by mass or less.

  As a measure to reduce the elution amount of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone, insolubilization by crosslinking polyvinyl pyrrolidone is also a preferred embodiment. Examples of the crosslinking method include γ-rays, electron beams, heat, chemical crosslinking, etc. Among them, residues such as initiators do not remain, and in terms of high material permeability, γ-rays or electron beams are used. Crosslinking is preferred. In the case of cross-linking by γ rays or electron beams, cross-linking is promoted by the coexistence of water. Therefore, the cross-linking treatment is preferably performed on a wet hollow fiber membrane bundle. In addition, when oxygen is present during the crosslinking treatment, the degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone is promoted, the elution amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone is increased, and the generation of hydrogen peroxide is promoted. preferable. Performing the above-described wet fiber bundle in a wet state is also a method that is preferably recommended in this respect. In the case of carrying out with a dry hollow fiber membrane bundle, there are methods such as carrying out in an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas or in an atmosphere deoxygenated with an oxygen scavenger. When the crosslinking treatment is performed in the dry state, it is also effective to increase the humidity of the atmosphere or increase the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. The crosslinking treatment may be performed either before or after the hollow fiber membrane bundle is incorporated into the blood purifier.

  Insolubilization due to crosslinking of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the present invention is determined by solubility in dimethylformamide in the crosslinked film. That is, 10 g of the crosslinked membrane is taken, a solution dissolved in 100 ml of dimethylformamide is applied at 1500 rpm for 10 minutes with a centrifuge, and then the supernatant is removed. 100 ml of dimethylformamide is again added to the remaining insoluble matter, and the mixture is stirred and then centrifuged under the same conditions to remove the supernatant. Again, 100 ml of dimethylformamide is added and stirred, the same centrifugation operation is performed, and then the supernatant is removed. The remaining solid was evaporated to dryness, and the content of insoluble matter was determined from the amount. The content of the insoluble material is preferably 0.5 to 40% by mass. 1-35 mass% is more preferable. In the case of a blood purifier in which a liquid is filled in the blood purifier, the filling liquid is first withdrawn, then pure water is allowed to flow through the dialysate side flow path at 500 mL / min for 5 minutes, and then the blood side flow path is the same. Pure water is allowed to flow at 200 mL / min for 5 minutes. Finally, 200 mL / min of pure water is passed through the membrane from the blood side to the dialysate side to finish the washing process. A hollow fiber membrane bundle is taken out from the obtained blood purifier and freeze-dried to obtain a sample for measuring insoluble components. In the case of a dry hollow fiber membrane bundle blood purifier, the same washing treatment is performed to obtain a measurement sample. In the present invention, when targeting a hollow fiber membrane bundle in a blood purifier in which the blood purifier is filled with a liquid, the polyvinyl pyrrolidone elution amount, the hydrogen peroxide elution amount, and the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard Any of the set UV (220-350 nm) absorbance measurements are taken on the same processed sample.

  The elution amount of hydrogen peroxide is preferably 5 ppm or less. 4 ppm or less is more preferable, and 3 ppm or less is more preferable. When the elution amount of the hydrogen peroxide exceeds 5 ppm, as described above, the storage stability deteriorates due to the oxidative degradation of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone by the hydrogen peroxide. For example, the elution of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone when stored for a long period of time. The amount may increase. In terms of storage stability, the increase in the elution amount of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone is the most prominent phenomenon. In addition, the deterioration of the polysulfone resin causes the hollow fiber membrane to become brittle, or the polyurethane system used for assembling the blood purifier There is a possibility that the deterioration of the adhesive is promoted and the amount of elution of deteriorated substances such as urethane oligomers is increased, leading to a decrease in safety. The increase in the amount of eluate caused by deterioration caused by the oxidizing action of hydrogen peroxide during long-term storage can be evaluated by measuring UV (220-350 nm) absorbance set by the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard.

  The elution amount of hydrogen peroxide was also quantified using an extract extracted by a method according to the dissolution test method of the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard.

  In the present invention, the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle is divided into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide eluted when measured for each is preferably 5 ppm or less at all sites. . Even if hydrogen peroxide is present in a specific part of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, the deterioration reaction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle material starts from that point and propagates to the entire hollow fiber membrane bundle, so it is used as a blood purifier The abundance of the hollow fiber membrane bundle in the length direction needs to be secured below a certain amount over the entire region. That is, the oxidative degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone initiated by hydrogen peroxide at a specific site spreads throughout the entire hollow fiber membrane bundle, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide further increases due to the degradation, and the degraded polyvinyl pyrrolidone has a molecular weight , It becomes easier to elute from the hollow fiber membrane bundle. This deterioration reaction proceeds in a chain. Therefore, when the hollow fiber membrane bundle is stored for a long period of time, the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone increases, which may lead to a decrease in safety when used as a blood purifier.

  In the crosslinking treatment, hydrogen peroxide is generated due to the degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone during the crosslinking treatment, and the generation thereof is promoted by hydrogen peroxide present during the crosslinking. It is a preferred embodiment that the permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle is divided into 10 pieces and the hydrogen peroxide elution when measured for each is 3 ppm or less at all sites is crosslinked. By this, the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle which is the first requirement of the present invention is divided into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction, and the elution of hydrogen peroxide when measured for each is 5 ppm or less at all the sites. Can be achieved. 2 ppm or less is more preferable.

  As a method of controlling the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide to the above regulated range, for example, as described above, it is effective to make the amount of hydrogen peroxide in polyvinylpyrrolidone used as a raw material 300 ppm or less, Since the hydrogen peroxide is also generated during the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, it is necessary to strictly control the manufacturing conditions of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. In particular, optimization of drying conditions is important because the production of the membrane-forming solution during the production of the hollow fiber membrane bundle greatly contributes to the production in the drying step. In particular, this optimization of the drying conditions is an effective means for reducing the fluctuation in the elution amount in the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle.

  Regarding the dissolution process of the film-forming solution, for example, when the film-forming solution made of polysulfone resin, polyvinylpyrrolidone and solvent is stirred and dissolved, if hydrogen peroxide is contained in the polyvinylpyrrolidone, it exists in the dissolution tank. It was found that hydrogen peroxide increased explosively due to the influence of oxygen to be heated and the influence of heating during dissolution. Therefore, when charging the raw material into the dissolution tank, it is preferable to input the raw material into the dissolution tank that has been previously replaced with an inert gas. As the inert gas, nitrogen, argon or the like is preferably used. Moreover, although a solvent, and a non-solvent may be added depending on the case, it is also a preferable embodiment that oxygen dissolved in these solvent and non-solvent is replaced with an inert gas.

  In addition, as another method for suppressing the generation of hydrogen peroxide, it is an important requirement to dissolve the film forming solution in a short time. For this purpose, it is usually sufficient to increase the dissolution temperature and / or increase the stirring speed. However, when it does so, degradation and decomposition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone will proceed due to the influence of temperature, stirring linear velocity and shearing force. In fact, according to the study by the inventors, the molecular weight of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the film-forming solution moves in the direction of decomposition (shifts to the low molecular side) as the dissolution temperature increases, or the low molecular side. The appearance of a shoulder that appears to be a decomposition product was observed. From the above, increasing the temperature for the purpose of improving the dissolution rate of the raw material promotes the degradation and degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone, and consequently blends the degradation product of polyvinylpyrrolidone into the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane. For example, when the obtained hollow fiber membrane is used for blood purification, a degradation product is eluted in the blood, and it has not been excellent in terms of product quality safety. Then, it tried to mix a raw material at low temperature in order to suppress decomposition | disassembly of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Even if it is low-temperature dissolution, it is usually preferable to have a temperature of 5 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower because it requires a running cost under extreme conditions that are below freezing. 60 degrees C or less is more preferable. However, simply lowering the melting temperature causes degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone due to the longer melting time, lowering the operability and increasing the size of the equipment, which causes problems in industrial implementation. In particular, when polyvinyl pyrrolidone is dissolved at a low temperature, the polyvinyl pyrrolidone becomes a powdered powder, which makes it difficult to dissolve further, or has a problem that it takes a long time for uniform dissolution.

  As a result of investigating the dissolution conditions for dissolving at low temperature without taking time, the inventors have found that it is preferable to dissolve the components constituting the film-forming solution prior to dissolution, and have reached the present invention. The kneading may be performed by kneading the polysulfone resin, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and a solvent, etc. at once, or kneading polyvinyl pyrrolidone and the polysulfone resin separately. As mentioned above, polyvinylpyrrolidone is accelerated by contact with oxygen and leads to the generation of hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, consideration must be given to suppressing contact with oxygen, such as in an atmosphere substituted with an inert gas, even during kneading. It is preferable to carry out in a separate line. The method of kneading only polyvinylpyrrolidone and a solvent and supplying the polysulfone resin directly to the dissolution tank without pre-kneading is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  The kneading may be performed by providing a kneading line separately from the dissolving tank, and the kneaded product may be supplied to the dissolving tank, or both the kneading and dissolving may be performed in a dissolving tank having a kneading function. The type and form of the kneading apparatus in the former separate apparatus are not limited. Either a batch system or a continuous system may be used. A static method such as a static mixer may be used, or a dynamic method such as a kneader or a stirring kneader may be used. The latter is preferred from the efficiency of kneading. The kneading method in the latter case is not limited, and any type such as a pin type, a screw type, and a stirrer type may be used. Screw type is preferred. What is necessary is just to select suitably the shape and rotation speed of a screw from the balance of kneading | mixing efficiency and heat_generation | fever. On the other hand, the type of dissolution tank when using a dissolution tank having a kneading function is not limited. For example, there is a kneading and dissolving machine of a type that expresses a kneading effect by so-called planetary motion in which two frame-type blades rotate and revolve. Recommended. For example, a planetary mixer or a trimix manufactured by Inoue Seisakusho Co., Ltd. corresponds to this method.

  The ratio of the resin component such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone and polysulfone resin and the solvent during kneading is not limited. A resin / solvent mass ratio of 0.1 to 3 is preferred. 0.5-2 are more preferable.

  As described above, the technical point of the present invention is to suppress the degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone and perform efficient dissolution. Therefore, a system in which at least polyvinylpyrrolidone is present is a preferred embodiment in which the system is kneaded and dissolved at a low temperature of 70 ° C. or lower in a nitrogen atmosphere. When the polyvinyl pyrrolidone and the polysulfone resin are kneaded in separate lines, this requirement may be applied to the polysulfone resin kneading line. The efficiency of kneading and dissolution and heat generation are two contradictory phenomena. Selection of an apparatus and conditions that avoid the trade-off as much as possible is an important element of the present invention. In this sense, the cooling method in the kneading mechanism is important and needs attention.

Subsequently, the material kneaded by the above method is dissolved. Although the dissolution method is not limited, for example, a dissolution method using a stirring type dissolution apparatus can be applied. In order to dissolve at a low temperature for a short time (within 3 hours), the Froude number (Fr = n ² d / g) is 0.7 to 1.3 and the stirring Reynolds number (Re = nd ² ρ / μ) is It is preferable that it is 50-250. Where n is the blade rotation speed (rps), ρ is the density (Kg / m ³ ), μ is the viscosity (Pa · s), g is the gravitational acceleration (= 9.8 m / s ² ), and d is the stirring blade diameter. (M). If the Froude number is too large, the inertial force becomes strong, so that the raw material scattered in the tank adheres to the walls and ceiling, and the desired film-forming solution composition may not be obtained. Therefore, the fluid number is more preferably 1.25 or less, further preferably 1.2 or less, and further preferably 1.15 or less. On the other hand, if the fluid number is too small, the inertial force is weakened, so that the dispersibility of the raw material is lowered, and in particular, polyvinylpyrrolidone becomes a spatter, which makes it difficult to dissolve further or requires a long time for uniform dissolution. Sometimes. Therefore, the fluid number is more preferably 0.75 or more, and further preferably 0.8 or more.

  Since the film-forming solution in the present invention is a so-called low-viscosity fluid, if the stirring Reynolds number is too large, a long defoaming time or insufficient defoaming occurs due to entrapment of bubbles in the film-forming solution during stirring. Problems may occur. Therefore, the stirring Reynolds number is more preferably 240 or less, further preferably 230 or less, and still more preferably 220 or less. On the other hand, when the stirring Reynolds number is too small, the stirring force becomes small, so that dissolution may be easily made nonuniform. Therefore, the stirring Reynolds number is more preferably 35 or more, further preferably 45 or more, still more preferably 55 or more, and particularly preferably 60 or more. Furthermore, when a hollow fiber membrane is formed with such a membrane-forming solution, the operability is deteriorated due to a drop in spinnability due to bubbles, and the quality of the material also becomes a defect due to the inclusion of bubbles in the hollow fiber membrane. It turned out to be a problem by causing a decrease in airtightness and burst pressure. Defoaming the film-forming solution is an effective countermeasure, but it may be accompanied by a change in the composition of the film-forming solution due to viscosity control of the film-forming solution or evaporation of the solvent. .

Furthermore, since polyvinyl pyrrolidone tends to undergo oxidative decomposition due to the influence of oxygen in the air, it is preferable to dissolve the membrane solution in an inert gas enclosure. Nitrogen, argon, etc. are raised as the inert gas, but nitrogen is preferably used. At this time, the residual oxygen concentration in the dissolution tank is preferably 3% or less. If the nitrogen filling pressure is increased, the melting time can be shortened. However, in order to increase the pressure, the equipment cost is increased, and from the viewpoint of work safety, atmospheric pressure and 2 kgf / cm ² or less are preferable.

  In addition, as the shape of the stirring blade used for dissolving the low-viscosity film forming solution used in the present invention, a radial turbine blade such as a disk turbine type, a paddle type, a curved blade fan turbine type, an arrow blade turbine type, or a propeller type An axial-flow type wing such as an inclined paddle type or a fiddler type is included, but is not limited thereto.

  By using the low-temperature dissolution method as described above, it is possible to obtain a highly safe hollow fiber membrane in which the degradation degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone is suppressed. In addition, it is preferable to use a film-forming solution having a residence time of 24 hours or less after dissolution of raw materials for film formation. This is because thermal energy was accumulated while the film forming solution was kept warm, and a tendency to cause deterioration of the raw material was recognized.

  As a method for controlling the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide within the above regulated range, it is important to reduce contact with oxygen even in the drying step. For example, drying in an atmosphere substituted with an inert gas can be mentioned, but it is disadvantageous in terms of economy. As an economical drying method, a method of drying by irradiating microwaves under reduced pressure is effective and recommended. In performing so-called drying by removing a liquid from an object to be dried, it is well known that each of them is irradiated with reduced pressure and microwave. However, performing decompression and irradiating microwaves at the same time is a combination that is generally difficult to use in combination with microwave characteristics. The inventors of the present application adopt a combination with this difficulty in order to achieve improvement in safety and productivity by preventing oxidative degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone and reducing the amount of eluate from the hollow fiber membrane, and drying conditions. It was found that the problem can be solved by a method that is economically advantageous by optimizing the above.

  As a drying condition of the drying method, it is preferable to irradiate microwaves with an output of 0.1 to 100 kW under a reduced pressure of 20 kPa or less. Moreover, the frequency of this microwave is 1,000-5,000 MHz, and it is a preferable embodiment that the highest ultimate temperature of the hollow fiber membrane bundle during a drying process is 90 degrees C or less. If a means of decompression is also provided, drying of moisture will be promoted by itself, so there is an advantage that the microwave irradiation output can be reduced and the irradiation time can be shortened, but the temperature rise can also be made relatively low. Overall, there is little influence on the performance degradation of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. Furthermore, drying accompanied by means of reduced pressure has the advantage that the drying temperature can be relatively lowered, and in particular, there is a significant point that degradation degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone can be remarkably suppressed. An appropriate drying temperature is sufficient from 20 to 80 ° C. More preferably, it is 20-60 degreeC, More preferably, it is 20-50 degreeC, More preferably, it is 30-45 degreeC.

  The fact that the pressure is reduced means that the low pressure acts uniformly on the center portion and the outer peripheral portion of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, the moisture evaporation is promoted uniformly, and the hollow fiber membrane is uniformly dried. Therefore, the failure of the hollow fiber membrane bundle due to non-uniform drying is corrected. In addition, heating by microwaves also acts almost equally on the entire center and outer periphery of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, so it functions synergistically in uniform heating, and is unique in drying the hollow fiber membrane bundle. It will be of significance. The degree of vacuum may be set as appropriate depending on the output of the microwave, the total moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle and the number of hollow fiber membrane bundles, but in order to prevent temperature rise of the hollow fiber membrane bundle during drying, the degree of vacuum is It is performed at 20 kPa or less, more preferably 15 kPa or less, and further preferably 10 kPa or less. If it is 20 kPa or more, not only the water evaporation efficiency is lowered, but also the temperature of the polymer constituting the hollow fiber membrane bundle may be increased and deteriorated. Moreover, although the one where a pressure reduction degree is higher is preferable in the meaning which suppresses a temperature rise and raises drying efficiency, since the cost concerning maintaining the sealing degree of an apparatus becomes high, 0.1 kPa or more is preferable. More preferably, it is 0.25 kPa or more, and further preferably 0.4 kPa or more.

In consideration of shortening the drying time, a higher microwave output is preferable.For example, in hollow fiber membrane bundles containing polyvinylpyrrolidone, degradation or decomposition of polyvinylpyrrolidone occurs due to overdrying or overheating, or wettability during use. It is preferable not to increase the output much because there is a problem such as a decrease. Further, the hollow fiber membrane bundle can be dried even with an output of less than 0.1 kW, but there is a possibility that a problem of reduction in throughput due to an increase in drying time may occur. The optimum value of the combination of the degree of decompression and the microwave output varies depending on the water content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle and the number of processed hollow fiber membrane bundles, and it is preferable to obtain a set value as appropriate through trial and error.
For example, as a temporary guide for carrying out the drying conditions of the present invention, when 20 hollow fiber membrane bundles having a moisture content of 50 g per hollow fiber membrane bundle are dried, the total moisture content is 50 g × 20 fibers = 1,000 g. At this time, it is appropriate that the microwave output is 1.5 kW and the decompression degree is 5 kPa.

  A more preferable microwave output is 0.1 to 80 kW, and a more preferable microwave output is 0.1 to 60 kW. The output of the microwave is determined by, for example, the total number of hollow fiber membrane bundles and the total water content. However, when the microwave is suddenly irradiated, drying is completed in a short time, but the hollow fiber membrane is partially denatured. May cause deformation such as curling. When drying using microwaves, for example, when using something like a water retention agent in the hollow fiber membrane, high power and extreme drying using microwaves will disappear due to scattering of the water retention agent It becomes the cause of. In particular, when accompanied by conditions of reduced pressure, considering the influence on the hollow fiber membrane, conventionally, it was not intended to irradiate microwaves under reduced pressure. Irradiation of microwaves under reduced pressure of the present invention means that the evaporation of aqueous liquid becomes active in a relatively low temperature state, so that degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone due to high output microwave and high temperature, deformation of hollow fiber membrane, etc. This has a double effect of preventing damage to the hollow fiber membrane.

  Although the present invention enables one-stage drying in which the microwave output is constant, i.e., drying by microwaves under reduced pressure, as another embodiment, the microwave output is sequentially changed according to the progress of drying. So-called multi-stage drying, which lowers in stages, is included as a preferred embodiment. Therefore, the significance of multi-stage drying will be described as follows. When drying with microwaves at a relatively low temperature of about 30 to 90 ° C. under reduced pressure, multi-stage drying in which the output of the microwaves is sequentially reduced in accordance with the progress of drying of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. The method is excellent. The degree of pressure reduction, temperature, microwave output, and irradiation time may be determined in consideration of the total amount of the hollow fiber membrane to be dried and the industrially acceptable drying time. Multistage drying can be performed in any number of stages, for example, 2 to 6 stages, but it is appropriate to use 2 to 3 stages of drying that is industrially appropriate in consideration of productivity. Depending on the total amount of water contained in the hollow fiber membrane bundle, when relatively large, multistage drying is performed at a temperature of 90 ° C. or lower, for example, at a reduced pressure of about 5 to 20 kPa, and the first stage is 30 to 100 kW. The range can be determined in consideration of the microwave irradiation time such that the second stage is in the range of 10 to 30 kW and the third stage is in the range of 0.1 to 10 kW. When the output of the microwave is large, such as 90 kW in the high part and 0.1 kW in the low part, the number of stages for reducing the output may be increased to 4 to 8 stages, for example. In the case of the present invention, since technical consideration is given to the microwave irradiation called decompression, there is an advantage that the microwave output can be relatively lowered. For example, the first stage is about 10 to 100 minutes by 10 to 20 kW microwave, the second stage is about 3 to 10 kW and about 5 to 80 minutes, and the third stage is about 0.1 to 3 kW and about 1 to 60 minutes. Dry in stages. It is preferable that the microwave output and irradiation time of each stage are lowered in conjunction with the reduction in the total amount of moisture contained in the hollow fiber membrane. Since this drying method is a very gentle drying method for hollow fiber membrane bundles and cannot be expected in the prior art, the effect of the present invention is made significant.

  In another aspect, when the water content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is 400% by mass or less, irradiation with a low-power microwave of 12 kW or less may be excellent. For example, when the amount of water in the total amount of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is about 1 to 7 kg, the output is 12 kW or less under a reduced pressure of about 3 to 10 kPa at a temperature of 80 ° C. or less, preferably 60 ° C. or less. For example, about 1 to 5 kW of microwave for 10 to 240 minutes, less than 0.5 to 1 kW of microwave for about 1 to 240 minutes, more preferably about 3 to 240 minutes, less than 0.1 to 0.5 kW Drying is performed uniformly by adjusting the irradiation power and irradiation time of the microphone mouth wave according to the degree of drying. The degree of vacuum is set to 0.1 to 20 kPa for each stage, but the first stage having a relatively high moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane is increased to 0.1 to 5 kPa, for example, and the microwave output is increased. The degree of pressure reduction at each stage, in which the microwave is irradiated at a pressure slightly higher than the first stage of 0.1 to 5 kW under a reduced pressure of 5 to 20 kPa in the second stage and the third stage. It is possible to arbitrarily set the appropriate adjustment in accordance with the change in consideration of the transition of the total moisture content and the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. In each stage, the operation of changing the degree of reduced pressure further increases the significance of irradiating microwaves under reduced pressure according to the present invention. Of course, it is necessary to always consider the uniform irradiation and exhaust of the microwave in the microwave irradiation apparatus.

  The drying of hollow fiber membrane bundles can be achieved by irradiating with microwaves under reduced pressure and using a drying method that alternately reverses the direction of ventilation. It is. The microwave irradiation method and the alternating ventilation reverse method also have merits and demerits, and these can be used in combination when high quality is required. In the first stage, when the air flow alternating reversal method is adopted and the moisture content proceeds to about 20 to 60% by mass, it can be dried by irradiating microwaves under reduced pressure in the next stage. In this case, after drying by irradiating microwaves, a ventilation drying method that alternately reverses the ventilation direction can be used in combination. These can be determined in consideration of the quality of the hollow fiber membrane produced by drying, particularly the quality of the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle having no partial fixation in the length direction of the hollow fiber membrane. These drying methods can be performed simultaneously, but are not practical because of disadvantages such as complexity and complexity of the apparatus and high price. However, using an effective heating method such as far infrared rays is not excluded from the scope of the drying method of the present invention.

  The maximum temperature reached by the hollow fiber membrane bundle during drying can be measured by applying an irreversible thermolabel to the side of the film that protects the hollow fiber membrane bundle, drying, and checking the display after taking out the drying. . At this time, the maximum reached temperature of the hollow fiber membrane bundle during drying is preferably 90 ° C. or lower, more preferably 80 ° C. or lower. More preferably, it is 70 degrees C or less. If the maximum temperature exceeds 90 ° C., the film structure tends to change, which may cause performance degradation or deterioration of oxidation. In particular, in a hollow fiber membrane bundle containing polyvinylpyrrolidone, it is necessary to prevent the temperature rise as much as possible because polyvinylpyrrolidone is easily decomposed by heat. Temperature rise can be prevented by optimizing the degree of decompression and microwave output and irradiating intermittently. Moreover, although the one where a drying temperature is lower is preferable, 30 degreeC or more is preferable from the surface of the maintenance cost of pressure reduction degree, and the shortening of drying time.

The microwave irradiation frequency is preferably 1,000 to 5,000 MHz in consideration of the suppression of irradiation spots on the hollow fiber membrane bundle and the effect of extruding water in the pores from the pores. More preferably, it is 1,500-4,000 MHz, More preferably, it is 2,000-3,000 MHz.
In drying by microwave irradiation, it is important to uniformly heat and dry the hollow fiber membrane bundle. In the above-described microwave drying, nonuniform heating due to the reflected wave that occurs accompanying the generation of the microwave occurs, so it is important to take measures to reduce the nonuniform heating due to the reflected wave. Although the method is not limited and is arbitrary, for example, a method in which a reflecting plate is provided in an oven disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-340356 to reflect reflected waves and make heating uniform is a preferred embodiment. One.

  After the water content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is reduced to 10 to 20% by mass, the hollow fiber membrane bundle is preferably dried by irradiation with far infrared rays. Although it is preferable to irradiate microwaves or to perform drying by heating (ventilation) in the sense that the material to be dried is dried more quickly, in the case of a separation membrane containing polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinylpyrrolidone progresses in drying, that is, in the hollow fiber membrane. As the water content decreases, there is a problem that it is susceptible to degradation and decomposition by heat. Therefore, in the final stage of drying (low water content), it is a preferred embodiment to dry mildly with lower energy. Further, far-infrared rays are a kind of electromagnetic wave and are preferable because they penetrate into the material to be dried as in the case of microwaves, and thus have a characteristic that the material to be dried can be uniformly dried even at low energy.

  It is preferable that the irradiation wavelength of a far infrared ray is 1-30 micrometers. Since water and organic matter have a high absorption rate of far-infrared rays with a wavelength of 3 to 12 μm, it is difficult to increase the temperature of the object to be dried if the wavelength of far-infrared rays is too short or too long. Such costs may increase. Therefore, the wavelength of the far infrared ray to be irradiated is more preferably 1.5 to 26 μm, further preferably 2 to 22 μm, and further preferably 2.5 to 18 μm.

As a radiation medium for irradiating far infrared rays, a stainless steel medium having a metal oxide film on its surface is preferably used. For example, it is inexpensive to use a far-infrared radiator in which austenitic stainless steel powder is coated with an oxide metal such as Al ₂ O ₃ , Fe ₂ O ₃ , TiO ₂ , CaO, MgO, K ₂ O, and Na ₂ O. This is a more preferable embodiment because far infrared rays can be extracted efficiently.

  On the other hand, in the case of drying by far-infrared irradiation performed after the completion of microwave drying, unlike the case of microwave drying, the discharge phenomenon does not occur even if irradiation is performed under reduced pressure. It can be carried out. From the point of drying efficiency, 5 kPa or less is preferable, 4 kPa or less is more preferable, 3 kPa or less is more preferable, and 2 kPa or less is more preferable. The irradiation energy of the far-infrared irradiation is preferably controlled so as to be 80 ° C. or lower at a temperature detected by a thermocouple provided at the center of the oven. It is more preferable to control at 70 ° C. or lower. This far-infrared radiation is highly absorbed by water and converted to energy, has excellent thermal efficiency, and has the safety that temperature control according to the transition of drying can be made appropriate. Have advantages. This is significant in terms of dry finishing in order to maintain the surface effects including the drying method by far-infrared irradiation, the color of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, the surface roughness, bending, cracking, smoothness and soft feeling.

A specific embodiment of a preferable drying method in the present invention includes: (1) a drying step of simultaneously irradiating the hollow fiber membrane bundle with microwave irradiation and far-infrared irradiation; (2) a drying step of performing microwave irradiation; It includes embodiments of a plurality of drying processes called drying processes that perform infrared irradiation. The proper drying method of the present invention employs a drying process in which (A) a hollow fiber membrane bundle is simultaneously subjected to (1) microwave irradiation and far-infrared irradiation, and the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is lowered to a constant value. In general, a drying method that employs a drying step of (3) far-infrared irradiation is common. Another aspect of the drying method is that (B) a hollow fiber membrane bundle adopts (2) a drying step in which microwave irradiation is performed, and the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is lowered to a constant value, (3) It is a drying method that employs a drying process that performs far-infrared irradiation. Of course, it is an essential requirement for each drying step to adopt appropriate temperature control, pressure control when performing under reduced pressure, and ventilation exhaust when necessary.
Theoretically, (1) Drying step and (2) Drying step are used together, (3) Drying step and (1) Drying step are used together, (2) Drying step and (3) Drying step are used together Although it is on-site operation of the drying apparatus for carrying out the drying method of the present invention, and the like, it is feasible, but compared to the drying methods of (A) and (B), the practical result is I have not examined it enough.

  As described above, the far-infrared irradiation may be started after the microwave irradiation is completed, or may be performed at the time of the microwave irradiation, and the microwave drying and the far-infrared drying may be performed simultaneously. By performing microwave and far-infrared irradiation simultaneously, evaporation of water that has been excited by microwave irradiation and moved to the surface of the hollow fiber membrane is accelerated by irradiation with far-infrared radiation, leading to improved drying efficiency. Further, this efficient evaporation of surface moisture suppresses the concentration fluctuation of the surface of the hollow fiber membrane of polyvinylpyrrolidone induced by the surface moisture, which is preferable because it leads to suppression of partial sticking. As described above, microwave drying is preferably performed under reduced pressure. Therefore, microwave drying and far-infrared drying are simultaneously performed under reduced pressure, and microwave irradiation is performed when the moisture content is reached. A method of stopping, continuing the far-infrared irradiation while maintaining the reduced pressure state, and continuing further drying is preferable. At this time, after the microwave irradiation is completed, the degree of decompression of the system may be lowered and conditioning may be performed, and then the degree of decompression may be increased again to start far-infrared irradiation. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable to perform drying using a microwave dryer in which a far-infrared heater is attached in the heating oven and an exhaust system capable of reducing the pressure (vacuum) in the heating oven is attached. It is an aspect.

  When drying under conditions of reduced pressure and temperature by microwave drying and far-infrared drying, generally, for example, when high-power microwaves are applied in a short period of time under reduced pressure and high temperature, the moisture content decreases. However, the uneven distribution of moisture and polyvinyl pyrrolidone are also related to microwave heating. There is a risk that a structure that can cope with pressure cannot be guaranteed. The present invention appropriately adjusts the output of microwaves and far-infrared rays, and also adjusts the environment of temperature and pressure, thereby promoting the overall drying of the inside and outside of the hollow fiber membrane bundle by microwaves in particular. Thus, the drying of the whole including the surface of the hollow fiber membrane bundle by the far infrared ray is promoted, and the microwave drying and the far infrared drying increase the synergistic drying effect.

  In the present invention, it is a preferred embodiment that an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is used when the inside of the drying system is returned to normal pressure after drying. Immediately after the drying, the temperature of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is high, so when returning the inside of the drying chamber to atmospheric pressure, when a gas containing oxygen such as air is fed, in the case of a hollow fiber membrane containing polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinylpyrrolidone May undergo oxidative degradation due to the effects of oxygen and heat. Therefore, when the inside of the drying chamber is returned to normal pressure after the drying is completed, the oxidative deterioration of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the hollow fiber membrane bundle is suppressed by feeding the inert gas.

  For the drying of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, the use of microwaves and far-infrared rays for an unlimited time does not affect the quality. This is because the influence of thermal deterioration of the polysulfone resin constituting the hollow fiber membrane bundle or of the polyvinylpyrrolidone material and environmental deterioration such as oxygen, water, and steam can be considered. Therefore, from the viewpoint of industrial production, it is necessary to consider an appropriate time that is naturally allowed for the drying time. From the viewpoint of protecting the quality of the hollow fiber membrane subjected to relatively harsh drying conditions such as microwaves and far infrared rays, from the viewpoint of industrial productivity, the inventors of the present invention are from the start to the end of drying. The drying time is preferably within 3 hours. More preferably within 2.5 hours, still more preferably within 2 hours.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the hollow fiber membrane does not dry out. When it is completely dried, the deterioration of polyvinyl pyrrolidone increases and the production of hydrogen peroxide may be greatly increased. In addition, wettability may be reduced during re-wetting during use, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone may be difficult to absorb water, and thus may be easily eluted from the hollow fiber membrane. The moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane after drying is preferably 1% by mass or more and less than the saturated moisture content. 1.5 mass% or more is more preferable. If the water content of the hollow fiber membrane is too high, bacteria may easily proliferate during storage, thread collapse may occur due to the weight of the hollow fiber membrane, and adhesion failure of the adhesive may occur during assembly of the blood purifier. Therefore, the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane is preferably 10% by mass or less, more preferably 7% by mass or less. In addition, the moisture content as used in the field of this invention measures the mass (g) of a hollow fiber membrane bundle, and after that, vacuum-drying is performed for 12 hours under reduced pressure (-750 mmHg or less), and the mass (g) after drying is measured. To do. The difference between before and after drying is determined as% (g) based on the weight (g) after drying. The water content is determined by the following formula.
(Weight loss / mass after drying) × 100 = moisture content (mass%)

  In addition, as described above, a method of removing hydrogen peroxide mixed from the raw material polyvinylpyrrolidone or generated in the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane bundle by washing is also effective as a method for controlling the above-described characteristic values within a regulated range. is there.

  In the present invention, the properties such as elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone and endotoxin, which is an endotoxin, are prevented from penetrating into the blood, and the hollow fiber membrane bundles are prevented from sticking together when the hollow fiber membrane bundles are dried. Therefore, it is preferable that the content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the outermost surface layer of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is in a specific range. As a method for satisfying this requirement, it can be achieved, for example, by setting the content of polyvinylpyrrolidone with respect to the polysulfone resin to the above-mentioned range, or optimizing the film forming conditions of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. It is also an effective method to wash the formed hollow fiber membrane bundle. Film formation conditions include optimization of the humidity at the air gap at the nozzle outlet, stretching conditions, coagulation bath temperature, composition ratio of solvent to non-solvent in the coagulation liquid, and introduction of a cleaning process is also effective. It is.

  As the internal coagulation liquid, a 0 to 80% by mass dimethylacetamide (DMAc) aqueous solution is preferable. More preferably, it is 15-70 mass%, More preferably, it is 25-60 mass%, More preferably, it is 30-50 mass%. If the concentration of the internal coagulation solution is too low, the dense layer on the blood contact surface becomes thick, which may reduce the solute permeability. On the other hand, if the concentration of the internal coagulating liquid is too high, the formation of the dense layer tends to be incomplete and the fractionation characteristics may be deteriorated. The external coagulation liquid is preferably a 0 to 50% by weight DMAc aqueous solution. If the concentration of the external coagulation solution is too high, the outer surface open area ratio and outer surface average pore area will become too large, which may increase the backflow of endotoxin to the blood side during dialysis and decrease the burst pressure. is there. Therefore, the external coagulation liquid concentration is more preferably 40% by mass or less, further preferably 30% by mass or less, and still more preferably 25% by mass or less. Further, when the external coagulation liquid concentration is too low, it is necessary to use a large amount of water in order to dilute the solvent brought in from the film forming solution, and the cost for waste liquid treatment increases. Therefore, the lower limit of the external coagulation liquid concentration is more preferably 5% by mass or more, further preferably 10% by mass or more, and still more preferably 15% by mass or more.

  In the production of the hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention, it is preferable that stretching is not substantially applied before the hollow fiber membrane structure is completely fixed. The fact that the film is not substantially stretched means that the roller speed during the spinning process is controlled so that the film-forming solution discharged from the nozzle is not loosened or excessively tensioned. The discharge linear speed / coagulation bath first roller speed ratio (draft ratio) is preferably in the range of 0.7 to 1.8. If the ratio is less than 0.7, the traveling hollow fiber membrane bundle may be slack and lead to a decrease in productivity. Therefore, the draft ratio is more preferably 0.8 or more, further preferably 0.9 or more, 0 .95 or more is even more preferable. When it exceeds 1.8, the membrane structure may be destroyed, for example, the dense layer of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is torn. Therefore, the draft ratio is more preferably 1.7 or less, still more preferably 1.6 or less, still more preferably 1.5 or less, and particularly preferably 1.4 or less. By adjusting the draft ratio to this range, deformation and destruction of the pores can be prevented, clogging of blood protein into the membrane pores can be prevented, and performance stability over time and sharp fractionation characteristics can be expressed. Is possible.

In the present invention, as described above, in the process of producing a hollow fiber membrane bundle, as a means for reducing the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide or bringing the content of polyvinylpyrrolidone on the outer surface of the hollow fiber membrane bundle into a specific range. It is important to introduce a washing step before the drying step. For example, the hollow fiber membrane bundle that has passed through the water-washing bath is wound into a basket in a wet state to form a bundle of 3,000 to 20,000. Next, the obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle is washed to remove excess solvent, polyvinylpyrrolidone. As a method for washing the hollow fiber membrane bundle, in the present invention, it is preferable to treat the hollow fiber membrane bundle by immersing it in hot water at 70 to 130 ° C. or room temperature to 50 ° C. and 10 to 40 vol% ethanol or isopropanol aqueous solution. .
(1) In the case of hot water washing, the hollow fiber membrane bundle is immersed in excess RO water and treated at 70 to 90 ° C. for 15 to 60 minutes, and then the hollow fiber membrane bundle is taken out and subjected to centrifugal dehydration. This operation is repeated several times while updating the RO water to perform the cleaning process.
(2) A method of treating a hollow fiber membrane bundle immersed in excess RO water in a pressurized container at 121 ° C. for about 2 hours may be employed.
(3) When using an ethanol or isopropanol aqueous solution, it is preferable to repeat the same operation as in (1).
(4) It is also a preferable washing method that the hollow fiber membrane bundle is radially arranged in the centrifugal washer, and centrifugal washing is performed for 30 minutes to 5 hours while spraying washing water at 40 ° C. to 90 ° C. from the rotation center in a shower shape. .
Two or more cleaning methods may be combined. In any method, when the processing temperature is too low, it is necessary to increase the number of times of cleaning, which may lead to an increase in cost. On the other hand, if the treatment temperature is too high, the decomposition of polyvinylpyrrolidone is accelerated, and conversely, the cleaning efficiency may be reduced. By performing the above-described cleaning, it is possible to optimize the content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone on the outermost surface layer, to suppress sticking and to reduce the amount of eluate, and also to reduce the hydrogen peroxide elution amount.

The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained by the above method is stored in a dry state for 3 months or more and then subjected to a test defined by the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval criteria and the hollow fiber membrane extract. It is preferable that the maximum value of UV (220 to 350 nm) absorbance at is less than 0.10. In this evaluation, a dry sample is stored in a dry box (atmosphere is air) conditioned at a humidity of 50% RH for 3 months at room temperature, and then UV (220 to 350 nm) absorbance is measured by the method described above. . In consideration of storing the hollow fiber membrane bundle in a dry state in the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, transportation, stock storage, and the like, it is preferable to impart the above characteristics.
The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention satisfies the above characteristics, and at the same time, has a hollow fiber membrane thickness of 10 to 60 μm or less, a single yarn yield elongation of 5.0% or less, and a hollow It is preferable to satisfy simultaneously that the yarn film is provided with a crimp having a wavelength of 10 mm or more and an amplitude of 0.2 mm or more.

  The film thickness is more preferably 15 to 55 μm, further preferably 15 to 50 μm, and still more preferably 18 to 47 μm. A membrane thickness of less than 10 μm is not preferable because the pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane is reduced, leading to a reduction in burst pressure, which is a reliable pressure resistance. On the other hand, when the film thickness exceeds 60 μm, the size of the blood purifier increases, which may cause problems such as an increase in transportation cost and a decrease in handleability. If it exceeds 60 μm, even if the water permeability is high, it leads to the problem that the permeability of the medium to high molecular weight substance with a low moving speed is lowered.

  The hollow fiber membrane of the present invention preferably has an inner diameter of 190 to 250 μm. 193-240 micrometers is more preferable, and 196-230 micrometers is still more preferable. If the inner diameter is less than 190 μm, the pressure applied to the hollow fiber membrane during dialysis treatment increases, leading to a decrease in the pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane, and the burst pressure, which is a reliable pressure resistance, may be reduced. On the other hand, if it exceeds 250 μm, the pressure loss and shear rate of the blood flowing through the hollow portion will decrease and the permeability of blood waste will decrease, or the adhesion and deposition of blood components on the membrane surface will increase. Blood compatibility is reduced.

In the blood purifier of the present invention, the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane is preferably 40 to 70% by volume. By setting the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane within the above range, it is possible to exhibit performance as a blood purifier (such as suppression of dialysis fluid drift by applying a crimp) while ensuring the productivity of the blood purifier. . If the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane is too low, the drift of the dialysate may not be suppressed even though crimping is applied. Accordingly, the hollow fiber membrane filling rate is more preferably 43% by volume or more, and further preferably 45% by volume or more. On the contrary, if the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane is too high, the hollow fiber membrane is crimped and bulky, so the insertability of the hollow fiber membrane into the blood purifier container is reduced. Productivity may be reduced. Therefore, the hollow fiber membrane filling rate is more preferably 67% by volume or less, and further preferably 65% by volume or less.
Here, the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane of the blood purifier can be obtained using the following formula.
Filling rate (volume%) = π (hollow fiber membrane outer diameter / 2) ² × number of hollow fiber membranes / blood purifier end cross-sectional area (inner diameter standard)

  The crimp in the present invention refers to a waveform shape with respect to a straight line.

  The hollow fiber membrane of the present invention is preferably provided with a crimp having a wavelength of 10 mm or more and an amplitude of 0.2 mm or more. When the crimp of the hollow fiber membrane is 10 mm or less and the amplitude is 0.2 mm or less, the assembly of the blood purifier deteriorates due to the displacement of the hollow fiber membrane in the blood purifier assembly process, the adhesion between the hollow fiber membranes and the dialysate The permeation performance of small molecular weight substances such as urea may decrease due to drift. Therefore, the wavelength of the crimp is more preferably 15 mm or more, and further preferably 20 mm or more. The amplitude is more preferably 0.22 mm or more, and further preferably 0.23 mm or more. On the other hand, if the crimp amplitude becomes too high, the hollow fiber membrane bundle becomes bulky, so the resistance when inserting the hollow fiber membrane bundle into the blood purifier container in the blood purifier assembly process increases, and the hollow fiber membrane surface It may cause scratches and cause leaks. Accordingly, the crimp preferably has a wavelength of 50 mm or less and an amplitude of 5 mm or less, more preferably a wavelength of 40 mm or less and an amplitude of 4 mm or less.

  Examples of the method of applying crimp in the present invention include (1) a method of passing between a plurality of cylindrical bodies having a certain clearance or pulleys with rollers, and (2) a plurality of cylindrical bodies having a certain clearance. Or a method of passing between a timing belt or chain with a roller, (3) a method of passing between a plurality of timing belts having a certain clearance, and (4) a plurality of surfaces having a certain clearance. There is a method of passing between the belts with irregularities. In any case, it is preferable that the method according to the present invention is capable of intermittently deforming a part of one side of the hollow fiber membrane in the circumferential direction intermittently with respect to the length direction.

  Hereinafter, the crimping of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a crimping apparatus (method 3 above) according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the continuous yarn 1 is conveyed while meandering between the toothed timing belts 2 that travel relative to each other. The toothed timing belt 2 is driven in the direction of the arrow by a timing pulley 7 driven by a driving source (not shown). Here, the continuous yarn 1 is supplied from the free roller 6 and advanced forward while meandering between the toothed timing belts, and is crimped to be discharged.

  For the purpose of simultaneously applying and fixing crimps, it is also preferable to arrange the crimp applying device in a box having a hot air inlet. The positions of the hot air inlet 4 and the hot air outlet 5 are not particularly specified as long as the inside of the hot air heating box 3 is uniformly heated. In addition, the heating method is not particularly specified as long as it is heated other than hot air heating.

  The clearance between the toothed timing belts 2 that travel relative to each other is desirably variable using a driving device such as a ball screw or an air cylinder. The clearance is adjusted appropriately according to the outer diameter of the yarn. If the clearance is too small, the timing belts that run against each other will hit each other, and the yarn may be damaged more than necessary. Further, if the clearance is too large, the crimp applied to the yarn may be weakened. Further, in order to obtain a desired crimped shape, it is necessary to select the pitch and shape of the timing belt teeth. The timing belt material is not particularly specified as long as it is heat resistant and exhibits corrosion resistance to the yarn.

  The size of the crimp of the hollow fiber membrane obtained according to the present invention and the number of crimps per unit length are the cylinder for use in applying the crimp, the diameter of the cylinder such as a roller or a timing belt with a convex part, or the distance between the rollers. Or it can change freely by changing the shape of a convex part, a cylindrical body, a roller, or the meshing depth of a convex part. (See FIGS. 2 and 3).

  The crimping is preferably performed after the hollow fiber membrane structure is substantially fixed. The state in which the hollow fiber membrane structure is substantially fixed refers to a state in which the hollow fiber membrane structure does not change physically after the membrane-forming solution is discharged from the nozzle, solidified in the coagulation bath, and subjected to the water washing step. That is, after the water washing step, it is preferable that 2 to 50 hollow fiber membranes are combined and used for the crimping step.

  The hollow fiber membrane that has passed through the washing bath needs to have a burst pressure within a specific range in order to ensure the reliability of pressure resistance as described above. For this purpose, the hollow fiber membrane can be damaged. It is necessary to reduce as much as possible. Therefore, it is preferable to prevent the hollow fiber membranes from excessively rubbing in the step of applying the crimp. Therefore, when a plurality of hollow fiber membrane rows that are continuously supplied are meandered between yarn guides that run at a constant interval to provide crimps, the plurality of hollow fiber membrane rows between the yarn guides are It is preferable that the vehicle travels while being divided in the width direction. In the case where crimps are given by meandering between yarn guides that run through a hollow fiber membrane row that is not divided at regular intervals, scratches may occur due to displacement between the hollow fiber membranes in the crimping step. is there. Further, in the assembly process of the blood purifier, this misalignment of the hollow fiber membrane may lead to a problem that the blood purifier assemblability deteriorates. Therefore, it is preferable to carry out by dividing the hollow fiber membrane appropriately. In the prior art, the division is performed by performing a fiber separation process in the crimping step. This method has the problems as described above. In the present invention, as described above, the spun single yarn is combined before being supplied to the crimping step, and the combined unit is supplied to the crimping step, so this problem is avoided.

  After the hollow fiber membrane structure is fixed, as a specific example for applying a crimp, a belt travels between the two sets of belts having convex portions fixed on the timing belt through the combined yarns. It is obtained by passing with. At this time, the shape of the convex part is preferably a semicircular or parabolic shape where the yarn contacts, and in the case of a square, the hollow fiber membrane is damaged, such as being deformed or blocked. Instead of a belt having a convex portion, a circular roller or a pin may be held, and a roller that rotates freely is more preferable because unnecessary stretching of the yarn at the entrance can be prevented.

  In the present invention, the mechanism for crimping the hollow fiber membrane is as follows. The side that comes into contact with the convex portion or the cylinder by the yarn sandwiched between the upper and lower two convex portions or the cylindrical body being pressed along the surface of the circular or parabolic convex portion or the cylindrical body. This is because the hollow fiber membrane in the outer portion on the circumference requires a longer distance from the surface of the hollow fiber membrane and is stretched. Therefore, the radius of the semicircular convex part or cylindrical body is sufficient to give a deformation exceeding the yield elongation on the side opposite to the contact side when the hollow fiber membrane is pressed along the convex part or cylinder. It is desirable that it is so small. In addition, when the diameter is smaller than necessary, the hollow fiber membrane is damaged such as flattening, deforming or clogging, and therefore a diameter that can give a deformation of 2.0 times to 7.0 times the yield elongation is desirable. . Furthermore, the diameter that can give a deformation of 3.0 times or more and 6.0 times or less of the yield elongation is less flattening, deforming or blocking, and sufficient crimp fixation is obtained. desirable.

  In applying the crimp in the present invention, in order to prevent the hollow fiber membrane from being flattened, deformed, or blocked, the hollow fiber membrane may be treated with the hollow forming agent substantially enclosed. In this case, it is more desirable that the hollow forming agent is liquid at the temperature of the crimping process.

  As described above, for example, the crimp application method described in Patent Document 29 is performed by using a hollow fiber membrane in a dry state and separating the hollow fiber membrane with a separation plate. The rubbing of the hollow fiber membrane bundle may be damaged, leading to a decrease in the pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane. In addition, dry hollow fiber membranes are likely to generate static electricity due to contact with members during running, and the hollow fiber membranes associate with each other due to static electricity, which increases the friction with the separating plate and between the hollow fiber membranes. This has the problem that the occurrence of scratches is increased.

  The method of the present invention adopts the measures for solving the above-mentioned problems. The first measure is to suppress crimping of the hollow fiber membranes in a wet state, thereby suppressing the generation of static electricity due to running of the hollow fiber membranes and preventing the hollow fiber membranes from excessively rubbing each other. The second measure is to eliminate the splitting work in the crimping process, to eliminate the generation of scratches with the splitting plate, and to eliminate the friction with the splitting plate and suppress the generation of the scratches. . That is, it is preferable to run with single yarn until spinning, coagulation and water washing steps, combine 2 to 50 single yarns just before entering the crimping device, and continuously supply to the crimping step to give the crimp. . This method solves the above-mentioned problems and enables efficient crimping by means of combined yarn. If the yarn is combined before the first half of the water washing step, it may lead to the occurrence of sticking between the hollow fiber membranes.

In the present invention, it is preferable to apply crimp to the wet hollow fiber membrane as described above, but this method has a milder expression of crimp than the method of applying crimp to the dry hollow fiber membrane. . In order to avoid this problem, in the present invention, when applying the crimp, the crimp can be efficiently applied only by passing through a step of partially imparting deformation exceeding the yield elongation of the hollow fiber membrane. There is no need for heat setting for immobilization.
Therefore, the present invention can effectively give a crimp to a hollow fiber membrane whose yield elongation is 5.0% or less. If the yield elongation of the hollow fiber membrane is too large, it will be necessary to reduce the diameter of the convex part in order to fix the crimp. A hollow fiber membrane is likely to occur. Therefore, the yield elongation of the hollow fiber membrane is more preferably 4.5% or less, further preferably 4.0% or less, and further preferably 3.5% or less. On the contrary, if the yield elongation of the hollow fiber membrane is too small, the diameter of the convex part for fixing the crimp can be increased to some extent and the deformation of the hollow fiber membrane can be suppressed. There may be a problem due to insufficient strength of the hollow fiber membrane in terms of productivity, transportation, and handling during use. Accordingly, the yield elongation of the hollow fiber membrane is preferably 1.5% or more, more preferably 1.8% or more, and further preferably 2.1% or more.

  In the present invention, the blood purifier is preferably filled with a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle having the above characteristics. The blood purifier preferably has a shape in which the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained by the above method is loaded in a blood purifier housing and both ends thereof are fixed with a resin.

  An example of the shape of the blood purifier is shown in FIG.

  The blood purifier 1 is loaded with a selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle 3 in a cylindrical housing 2, and both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle 3 are fixed 4 to both ends of the housing 2 with an adhesive or the like. The both ends of 2 are covered with caps 5a and 5b. A dialysate inlet 6a for introducing dialysate into the housing 2 is provided near one end of the side of the housing 2, and a dialysate outlet 6b for discharging dialysate is provided near the other end. Each is formed to protrude. One cap 5a is formed with a blood introduction port 7a for introducing blood into the housing 2, and the other cap 5b is formed with a blood discharge port 7b for discharging blood.

  The blood enters the space formed by the cap 5a and one end face of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle 3 from the blood introduction port 7a as shown by the arrow A, and the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle 3 , Enters the space formed by the other end face of the selectively permeable hollow fiber bundle 3 and the cap 5b, and is discharged from the blood outlet 7b as shown by an arrow B. On the other hand, the dialysate enters the housing 2 from the dialysate inlet 6a as shown by the arrow C, flows outside the hollow fibers of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle 3, and as shown by the arrow D, the dialysate It is discharged from the discharge port 6b. At this time, the flow of blood to be dialyzed and the flow of dialysate are opposite so-called opposite flows. During this time, waste in the blood flowing in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane is dialyzed into the outer dialysate through the hollow fiber membrane.

  Examples of the material for the housing and the cap include polycarbonate, polyester, and polypropylene. Examples of the adhesive material used for fixing both ends include polyurethane resin, epoxy resin, and silicone resin.

  The method of injecting the adhesive used for fixing both ends into the fixing portion is not limited, but a centrifugal bonding method in which the injection is performed using the centrifugal force generated by rotating the blood purifier to be injected is recommended. The method of the centrifugal bonding method is not limited. For example, sealing jigs are attached to both ends of the housing loaded with the dried selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle and set in a centrifugal bonding machine. A predetermined amount of uncured adhesive resin is injected from the dialysate inlets 6a and 6b at a temperature near room temperature while rotating the centrifugal adhesive machine at a predetermined rotational speed, and then the temperature of the centrifugal adhesive machine is injected. The curing temperature is raised and the curing is terminated, or at least the resin is precured until the fluidity of the resin is lost, and the centrifugal bonding machine is stopped. In the latter case, heating is performed in a stationary state, post-curing is performed, and curing is terminated. This centrifugal bonding method may be a two-layer centrifugal bonding method in which the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane at the bonding interface is reinforced by covering the inside of the bonded portion of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle with a flexible resin layer.

In the case of the centrifugal bonding method, it is important that the adhesive is uniformly injected into the entire space in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle. If this injection becomes non-uniform and a part where the injection amount of the adhesive is insufficient is produced, it leads to poor adhesion. In particular, if there is a portion where the selectively permeable hollow fiber membranes are fixed, penetration of the adhesive is inhibited. Therefore, in order to unravel the adhering portion, for example, so-called yarn setting treatment is performed in which air is blown from the nozzle to the end face of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle. Certainly, the present warping treatment is effective in unraveling the fixed hollow fiber membrane, but this treatment is not preferable because it causes deformation of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle at the end face portion, leading to the generation of an inclined hollow fiber membrane.
The selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention is characterized in that uniformity of the injection of the adhesive is ensured without performing the yarn setting treatment because partial fixation during drying is suppressed. Therefore, the yarn setting process is not necessary. However, since it is important to ensure the uniformity of the injection of the adhesive, it is preferable to implement the following measures. For example, it is preferable to select a low viscosity brand as the adhesive. The viscosity after 2 minutes of mixing the two liquids is preferably 2000 mPa · s or less. 1600 mPa · s or less is more preferable. Moreover, it is preferable to lower the filling density of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle restrained by the hollow package when the dry selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle is inserted into the housing used for assembling the blood purifier.

  The number of hollow fiber membranes and the length of the hollow fiber membrane bundle to be filled are appropriately set according to market requirements and hollow fiber membrane bundle characteristics. The length and diameter of the housing are set so as to match the size of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle to be filled.

The blood purifier produced using the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention has a urea clearance of 150 mL / min (1) when used for hemodialysis with a blood flow rate of 200 mL / min and a dialysate flow rate of 500 mL / min. 0.5 m ² ) or more. If the urea clearance is too low, the low molecular weight substance in the blood cannot be removed, and there is a possibility that a sufficient therapeutic effect cannot be obtained. Therefore, the urea clearance is preferably 160 mL / min (1.5 m ² ) or more, more preferably 170 mL / min (1.5 m ² ) or more, and even more preferably 180 mL / min (1.5 m ² ) or more. The upper limit of urea clearance is determined by the blood flow rate. When the blood flow rate is 200 mL / min, the upper limit of clearance is 200 mL / min. Urea diffuses and moves with the concentration difference as a driving force, and is therefore greatly affected by the dialysis fluid drift. Therefore, the low urea clearance can be seen as proof that urea does not easily move from the blood side to the dialysate side through the hollow fiber membrane (ie, there is a drift in the dialysate flow). .

  Although the method for imparting the above properties is not limited, it is a preferred embodiment to impart crimp to the hollow fiber membrane bundle described above. By applying the crimp, the drift of the dialysate is suppressed and the decrease in urea clearance is suppressed.

When used for the blood purifier, it is preferable that the burst pressure is made of a hollow fiber membrane bundle having a pressure of 0.5 MPa or more and that the water permeability of the blood purifier is 150 ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or more. If the burst pressure is less than 0.5 MPa, there is a possibility that it is impossible to detect a potential defect that leads to a blood leak as described later. Moreover, if the water permeability is less than 150 ml / m ² / hr / mmHg, the dialysis efficiency may decrease. In order to increase the dialysis efficiency, the pore diameter is increased or the number of pores is increased. However, this tends to cause a problem that the membrane strength is reduced or defects are formed. Therefore, it is preferable that the porosity of the support layer portion is optimized by optimizing the pore diameter of the outer surface, and the solute permeation resistance and membrane strength are balanced. A more preferable range of water permeability is 200 ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or more, more preferably 250 ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or more, and still more preferably 300 ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or more. In addition, when the water permeability is too high, it becomes difficult to control water removal during hemodialysis, and therefore, 2000 ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or less is preferable. More preferably 1800ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or less, more preferably 1500ml / m ² / hr / mmHg or less, still more preferably not more than ^{1300ml / m 2 / hr / mmHg} .

Usually, a blood purifier used for blood purification is subjected to a leak test in which the inside or outside of the hollow fiber membrane is pressurized with air in order to confirm defects in the hollow fiber membrane or the blood purifier at the final stage of production. When a leak is detected by the pressurized air, the blood purifier is discarded as a defective product, or an operation for repairing the defect is performed. The air pressure in this leak test is often several times the guaranteed pressure resistance of the hemodialyzer (usually 500 mmHg (0.067 MPa)). However, in the case of a hollow fiber type blood purification membrane having a particularly high water permeability, minute scratches, crushing, and tearing of the hollow fiber membrane that cannot be detected by a normal pressure leak test are caused by manufacturing processes (mainly sterilization) after the leak test. And packaging), transportation process, or handling in clinical settings (unpacking, priming, etc.), which leads to the cutting of hollow fiber membranes and pinholes, which in turn causes troubles of blood leaking during treatment. is required. The trouble can be avoided by setting the burst pressure to the above characteristic.
Further, the uneven thickness of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is effective for suppressing the occurrence of the above-described potential defects.

  The burst pressure in the present invention is an index of pressure resistance of the hollow fiber membrane bundle after the hollow fiber membrane is made into a blood purifier. The inside of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is pressurized with gas, and the pressure is gradually increased. The pressure when the hollow fiber membrane burst without being able to withstand the internal pressure. The higher the burst pressure, the less the cutting of the hollow fiber membrane bundle and the generation of pinholes during use, so 0.5 MPa or more is preferable, 0.55 MPa or more is more preferable, and 0.6 MPa or more is even more preferable. If the burst pressure is less than 0.5 MPa, there may be a potential defect. The higher the burst pressure, the better. However, if the focus is on increasing the burst pressure and the film thickness is increased or the porosity is decreased too much, the desired film performance may not be obtained. Therefore, when finished as a hemodialysis membrane, the burst pressure is preferably less than 2.0 MPa. More preferably, it is less than 1.7 MPa, more preferably less than 1.5 MPa, still more preferably less than 1.3 MPa, and particularly preferably less than 1.0 MPa.

  In order to make the burst pressure 0.5 MPa or more, it is important to suppress the occurrence of scratches on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane in the crimping step described above, but the following factors also contribute greatly.

  For example, the thickness deviation in the present invention is a deviation in film thickness when observing a cross section of 100 hollow fiber membrane bundles in a hollow fiber membrane bundle blood purifier, and is a ratio between the maximum value and the minimum value. Show. The minimum thickness deviation of 100 hollow fiber membranes is preferably 0.6 or more. If even one hollow fiber membrane with a thickness deviation of less than 0.6 is included in 100 hollow fiber membranes, the hollow fiber membrane may cause a leak during clinical use. It represents not the value but 100 minimum values. Higher unevenness increases the uniformity of the film, suppresses the appearance of latent defects and improves the burst pressure, more preferably 0.7 or more, more preferably 0.8 or more, still more preferably 0.85 or more. If the uneven thickness is too low, latent defects are likely to be manifested, the burst pressure is lowered, and blood leakage is liable to occur.

  As an achievement means for making the unevenness degree 0.6 or more, for example, it is preferable to make the slit width of the nozzle that is the discharge port of the film forming solution strictly uniform. As a spinning nozzle for a hollow fiber membrane bundle, a tube-in-orifice type nozzle having an annular portion for discharging a film forming solution and a core liquid discharge hole serving as a hollow forming agent inside thereof is generally used. Denotes the width of the outer annular portion that discharges the film-forming solution. By reducing the variation in the slit width, the uneven thickness of the spun hollow fiber membrane bundle can be reduced. Specifically, the ratio between the maximum value and the minimum value of the slit width is 1.00 or more and 1.11 or less, and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is preferably 10 μm or less, more preferably 7 μm or less, More preferably, it is 5 micrometers or less, More preferably, it is 3 micrometers or less. It is also a preferred embodiment to optimize the nozzle temperature. The nozzle temperature is preferably 20 to 100 ° C. If it is less than 20 ° C., it is easily affected by the room temperature, the nozzle temperature is not stable, and ejection spots of the film forming solution may occur. Therefore, the nozzle temperature is more preferably 30 ° C. or higher, further preferably 35 ° C. or higher, and further preferably 40 ° C. or higher. On the other hand, when the temperature exceeds 100 ° C., the viscosity of the film-forming solution may be too low and ejection may become unstable, and thermal degradation / decomposition of polyvinylpyrrolidone may proceed. Therefore, the nozzle temperature is more preferably 90 ° C. or less, further preferably 80 ° C. or less, and still more preferably 70 ° C. or less.

  Furthermore, as a measure for increasing the burst pressure, it is also an effective method to reduce potential defects by reducing flaws on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, foreign matters and bubbles. As a method of reducing the occurrence of scratches, the material and surface roughness of the rollers and guides in the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane bundle are optimized, and when the hollow fiber membrane bundle is inserted into the blood purifier container when the blood purifier is assembled It is effective to devise such that contact between the container and the hollow fiber membrane bundle or rubbing between the hollow fiber membrane bundles is reduced. In the present invention, it is preferable to use a roller having a mirror-finished surface in order to prevent the hollow fiber membrane bundle from slipping and scratching the surface of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. In addition, it is preferable to use a guide whose surface is textured or knurled in order to avoid contact resistance with the hollow fiber membrane bundle as much as possible. When the hollow fiber membrane bundle is inserted into the blood purifier container, the hollow fiber membrane bundle is not directly inserted into the blood purifier container, but the contact surface with the hollow fiber membrane bundle is hollowed, for example, with a satin finish. It is preferable to use a method in which a wound film bundle is inserted into a blood purifier container, and after insertion, only the film is removed from the blood purifier container.

  As a method for suppressing the mixing of foreign matter into the hollow fiber membrane bundle, a method using a raw material with little foreign matter, filtering the membrane-forming solution, and reducing foreign matter is effective. In the present invention, it is preferable to filter the membrane-forming solution using a filter having a pore size smaller than the thickness of the hollow fiber membrane bundle and then discharge from the nozzle. Specifically, the uniformly-dissolved membrane-forming solution is removed from the dissolution tank. A sintered filter having a pore diameter of 10 to 50 μm provided while being led to the nozzle is passed. The filtration treatment may be performed at least once. However, when the filtration treatment is performed in several stages, it is preferable to reduce the pore size of the filter as it is in the latter stage in order to extend the filtration efficiency and the filter life. The pore size of the filter is more preferably 10 to 45 μm, further preferably 10 to 40 μm. If the filter pore size is too small, the back pressure may increase and the quantitativeness may decrease. Further, as a method for suppressing the mixing of bubbles, it is effective to defoam a polymer solution for film formation. Depending on the viscosity of the film-forming solution, static defoaming or vacuum defoaming can be used. In this case, after the inside of the dissolution tank is depressurized to −100 to −750 mmHg, the inside of the tank is sealed and allowed to stand for 5 to 30 minutes. This operation is repeated several times to perform defoaming treatment. If the degree of vacuum is too low, the treatment may take a long time because it is necessary to increase the number of defoaming times. Moreover, when the pressure reduction degree is too high, the cost for raising the sealing degree of a system may become high. The total treatment time is preferably 5 minutes to 5 hours. If the treatment time is too long, polyvinylpyrrolidone may be decomposed and deteriorated due to the effect of reduced pressure. If the treatment time is too short, the defoaming effect may be insufficient.

  In the present invention, the blood purifier is preferably filled with a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle having the above characteristics. The blood purifier preferably has a shape in which the permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained by the above method is loaded in a blood purifier container and both ends thereof are fixed with resin.

  The selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane for blood purifiers must be sterilized. As a sterilization method, a radiation sterilization method of irradiating γ rays or electron beams is preferable because of its reliability and simplicity. In addition, irradiation treatment is performed as a means for crosslinking polyvinylpyrrolidone. Therefore, the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention preferably has the above characteristics even after the radiation irradiation treatment.

  In order to maintain the characteristics even after irradiation, it is important to use a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane having the above characteristics before irradiation, but it is only one of the necessary requirements. After satisfying this requirement, it is necessary to take measures to suppress the deterioration reaction caused by irradiation.

  Conventionally, in order to satisfy these characteristics, it has been achieved by irradiation with radiation in the wet state and in the presence of a radical scavenger, but it has the above-mentioned problems and has been desired to be improved. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a dry type blood purifier and a method capable of suppressing the degradation reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone due to radiation even when irradiated with radiation in the absence of a radical scavenger. Yes.

  Accordingly, in the present invention, the water content in the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle is preferably 600% by mass or less. Moreover, it is preferable that a radical scavenger is not included in the blood purifier during radiation irradiation.

  When the water content exceeds 600% by mass, the weight of the blood purifier increases, resulting in problems such as reduced handling and increased transportation costs, easy generation of bacteria, and freezing in cold regions. There are things to do. Moreover, since polyvinylpyrrolidone is too cross-linked, the blood coagulation reaction may be activated when used for blood purification. On the other hand, when the water content is less than 0.8% by mass, deterioration of polyvinyl pyrrolidone due to irradiation is accelerated, and it is determined by increased production of hydrogen peroxide, carboxyl groups, peroxides, etc. May cause an increase in UV (220 to 350 nm) absorbance in a hollow fiber membrane extract, a decrease in long-term storage stability, blood compatibility and stability, and the like. Therefore, 1.0-300 mass% is more preferable, and 1.5-200 mass% is further more preferable.

  In order to impart the above characteristics by irradiation with radiation in the dry state and in the absence of a radical scavenger, the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane before irradiation is used as described above, as described above. It is important but only one of the requirements. After satisfying this requirement, it is necessary to take measures to suppress the deterioration reaction caused by irradiation.

  It is difficult to suppress the degradation reaction due to irradiation in the dry state and in the absence of a radical scavenger, which is the object of the present invention, and conventionally, this is unavoidably performed by a wet method and in the presence of a radical scavenger. It was. As a result of intensive studies on solving the problem, the present inventors have promoted the deterioration reaction by oxygen gas adsorbed on the localized portion of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone of the polysulfone-based selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane, and The present invention was completed by finding a method for suppressing the degradation reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone based on the presumed mechanism of being suppressed by water adsorbed on the localized portion. Although it is a well-known phenomenon that the above degradation reaction is affected by oxygen, the present inventors have found for the first time that the degradation reaction is suppressed by a trace amount of water adsorbed on the localized portion of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Phenomenon. Preferred embodiments are described below.

  The present inventors adjusted the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane to 5% by mass or more using degassed water when irradiating the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane having the above-described characteristics in a dry state. It has been found that the blood purifier can suppress the degradation reaction of polyvinyl pyrrolidone even in the absence of a radical scavenger.

  That is, all the blood and dialysate entrances and exits of a blood purifier filled with a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle containing polyvinylpyrrolidone adjusted to a moisture content of 5 to 600% by mass using deaerated water It is preferable to irradiate with radiation by sealing with a packaging bag that blocks outside air and water vapor in a sealed state.

  In the present invention, the deaerated water present in and around the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane is preferably deoxygenated water. Further, it is more preferably inert gas saturated water.

  The deoxygenated water is water having a dissolved oxygen content of 0.5 ppm or less. The dissolved oxygen content is more preferably 0.2 ppm or less, and further preferably 0.1 ppm or less.

Usually, about 20 l of air per 1 m ³ is dissolved in water, and oxygen gas of 8 mg / l water is dissolved in normal tap water. The method for preparing the deoxygenated water is not limited as long as the amount of dissolved oxygen is satisfied. Those prepared by a generally known degassing method can be applied. Examples thereof include a heat degassing method, a vacuum degassing method, a nitrogen gas bubbling method, a membrane degassing method, a reducing agent addition method, and a reducing method. The membrane deaeration method is particularly preferable because the amount of dissolved oxygen can be reduced to the ppb level. The membrane degassing method may be prepared by either a non-porous membrane method or a porous membrane method.

  It is preferable to use the deoxygenated water that has been subjected to reverse osmosis treatment (RO treatment).

  If only the above deoxygenated water is used, oxygen contained in the surrounding air is dissolved again, and the re-dissolved oxygen gas is adsorbed on the localized portion of polyvinylpyrrolidone, so that the above undesirable deterioration occurs. It becomes difficult to completely suppress the reaction. This problem can be solved by using an inert gas saturated water such as nitrogen. That is, by containing an inert gas in a saturated state, even when irradiation is performed in an environment where oxygen is included in the surroundings, dissolution of oxygen gas in water is suppressed, and the state in which the concentration of oxygen contained in water is low is reduced. Will be kept.

  The method for preparing the inert gas saturated water is not particularly limited, and a method of bubbling an inert gas such as nitrogen can be suitably used. As known in the art, the inert gas bubbling method is known as a method for removing dissolved oxygen from water, but dissolved oxygen is eventually removed by the introduction of inert gas. It is also preferable to dissolve the active gas. Specifically, removal of oxygen and dissolution of inert gas by bubbling inert gas into water from which oxygen has been removed in advance, such as by heat degassing, vacuum degassing, membrane degassing, and reducing agent addition. Is done efficiently. Here, the dissolved oxygen amount of the inert gas saturated water is preferably 0.5 ppm or less, more preferably 0.2 ppm or less, and further preferably 0.1 ppm or less. The water used here is preferably RO-treated water. Here, the dissolved oxygen in water can be measured using, for example, a dissolved oxygen meter OM-51-L1 manufactured by HORIBA Ltd.

  By using the degassed water, the degradation of the hollow fiber membrane due to radiation irradiation, particularly the degradation reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone, is more efficiently suppressed than when non-degassed water is used. Increase in UV (220-350 nm) absorbance in the extract of hollow fiber membranes when performing tests stipulated by the approval standards for the manufacture of dialysis-type artificial kidney devices, anti-thrombogenicity, long-term The effect of suppressing an undesirable deterioration reaction that causes a decrease in storage stability and performance development during priming is increased.

  In the present invention, the oxygen concentration in the blood purifier is preferably 3.6% by volume or less. 1.0% by volume or less is more preferable, and 0.1% by volume or less is more preferable. When the oxygen concentration exceeds 3.6% by volume, the hollow fiber membrane, particularly polyvinyl pyrrolidone, may be deteriorated when irradiated with radiation or an electron beam even if the above-described requirements are satisfied. The expression of the effect of the present invention is further stabilized by adjusting the oxygen concentration.

  In the above method, the mechanism by which the degradation reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone during irradiation is suppressed is presumed as follows. The polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the hollow fiber membrane is localized in the hollow fiber membrane without being uniformly dispersed, and water present inside and on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane is selectively around the highly hydrophilic polyvinyl pyrrolidone. It is presumed that it is localized by being adsorbed on the surface. It is presumed that the presence of water around the polyvinyl pyrrolidone blocks the attack of oxygen activated by radiation irradiation on the polyvinyl pyrrolidone and suppresses the degradation reaction. Therefore, it is guessed that the effect is expressed more effectively by deaeration water conversion. In addition, in the present invention, a hollow fiber membrane is used in which the amount of hydrogen peroxide that is activated by radiation and causes a deterioration reaction is suppressed in the same manner as oxygen, so that the deterioration reaction is also suppressed. It is presumed that the effect of the present invention is manifested by heavy effects.

  The method for reducing the oxygen concentration in the blood purifier is not limited, but it is preferable to fill the blood purifier with an inert gas. As described above, the blood purifier is assembled using the hollow fiber membrane bundle dried by the above-described method, deoxygenated water is injected and filled into the blood purifier, and the air present in the blood purifier is expelled. A method of simultaneously performing deoxygenation and oxygen concentration reduction by injecting and filling an inert gas into the blood purifier after filling the water in the hollow fiber membrane and the periphery of the hollow fiber membrane with deoxygenated water is preferable. . The inert gas is preferably nitrogen gas from the viewpoint of economy.

  In the above method, it is preferable to seal all the blood and dialysate inlet / outlet of the blood purifier after adjusting the water content and oxygen concentration in the blood purifier. By this method, the volatilization of water from the hollow fiber membrane filled in the blood purifier is suppressed, and the invasion of oxygen gas contained in the outside air into the blood purifier is suppressed, so that the effect of the present invention is achieved. Is effectively expressed. Moreover, invasion of various germs into the blood purifier can be prevented. Moreover, since the volatilization of moisture from the hollow fiber membrane is suppressed for a long period of time, shrinkage due to the hollow fiber membrane being dried over time and deterioration of the membrane characteristics are suppressed. Therefore, the effect that the generation | occurrence | production of a defect, the fall of a membrane characteristic, etc. at the time of storing a blood purifier for a long term is suppressed appears. For example, when the shrinkage of the hollow fiber membrane occurs, peeling of the interface between the hollow fiber membrane and the adhesive at the fixing portion to the blood purifier due to the adhesive of the hollow fiber membrane occurs, leading to the occurrence of liquid leakage at the portion. Further, in the case of a method in which crimping is applied to the hollow fiber membrane to suppress the dialysis fluid drift, the crimping of the dialysis fluid may increase due to the relaxation of the crimp due to drying of the hollow fiber membrane.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the blood purifier hermetically sealed by the above method is sealed with the aforementioned packaging bag and irradiated with radiation. By sealing with the packaging bag, contamination of the outer surface of the blood purifier, adhesion of germs and the like are prevented. In the method, the atmospheric gas in the packaging bag is not particularly limited. Air may be used, but an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas is more preferable because it suppresses the growth of germs mixed after sterilization and complements the effect of the sealing plug. Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable to irradiate with radiation and electron beams after sealing tightly as will be described later. Therefore, there is an advantage that oxygen gas can be prevented from entering the blood purifier from outside air during this period. is there. As an inert gas atmosphere, it is preferable to seal the oxygen scavenger together with the blood purifier.

  The oxygen scavenger is not limited as long as it has a oxygen scavenging function. For example, sulfite, bisulfite, dithionite, hydroquinone, catechol, resorcin, pyrogallol, gallic acid, longalit, ascorbic acid and / or its salts, sorbose, glucose, lignin, dibutylhydroxytoluene, dibutylhydroxyanisole, Examples of the oxygen scavenger include a ferrous salt, metal powder such as iron powder, and the like as an oxygen-absorbing main agent, which can be appropriately selected. In addition, oxygen scavengers for metal powders are used as an oxidation catalyst, if necessary, such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, aluminum chloride, ferrous chloride, ferric chloride, sodium bromide, odor. One or two kinds of metal halides such as potassium iodide, magnesium bromide, calcium bromide, iron bromide, nickel bromide, sodium iodide, potassium iodide, magnesium iodide, calcium iodide, iron iodide, etc. The above may be added. Moreover, adding a deodorant, a deodorant, and another functional filler is not restrict | limited at all. Further, the shape of the oxygen scavenger is not particularly limited, and may be any of powder, granule, lump, sheet, etc., or a sheet in which various oxygen absorbent compositions are dispersed in a thermoplastic resin or A film-like oxygen scavenger may be used.

  When moisture is present in the hollow fiber membrane, the crosslinking reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone proceeds by irradiation. Since the above method is a method of sterilizing by irradiating with a moisture content of 5% by mass or more, in the above sterilization processing, a crosslinking reaction proceeds simultaneously with sterilization, and for example, suppressing the elution amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone. It can also lead to the manifestation of the effect of being able to.

  The above-described method can be employed as a method for simultaneously performing sterilization and crosslinking at a simpler and lower cost when the moisture content in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane is 5% by mass or more.

  Even when the water content is less than 5% by mass, the deterioration reaction due to radiation irradiation can be suppressed by satisfying the specific requirements. That is, there is a method of using the permselective hollow fiber membrane having the above-described characteristics and optimizing the oxygen concentration and humidity of the atmosphere surrounding the permselective hollow fiber membrane during the radiation irradiation treatment. Of course, even when the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane is 5% by mass or more, there is no problem even if the method is additionally used. The first requirement in the method is a requirement relating to the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere surrounding the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane during sterilization. Radiation irradiation is preferably performed in a state where the oxygen concentration is 3.6% by volume or less. It is more preferably 1% by volume or less, and further preferably 0.1% by volume or less. If it exceeds 3.6% by volume, hydrogen peroxide production due to deterioration of polyvinylpyrrolidone may increase and the above characteristics may not be satisfied.

The second requirement in the above method is a requirement relating to the amount of water adsorbed on the localized portion of polyvinylpyrrolidone of the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane. When implemented by the above method, it is preferable to optimize the moisture content in the hollow fiber membrane and the humidity in the packaging bag. The water content is preferably 0.8% by mass or more. Further, the humidity in the packaging bag is preferably such that the relative humidity at 25 ° C. exceeds 40% RH. The relative humidity of the space in the packaging bag is more preferably 50 to 90% RH (25 ° C.), and further preferably 60 to 80% RH (25 ° C.).
When the relative humidity of the space inside the packaging bag is 40% RH (25 ° C.) or lower, the hollow fiber membrane component is formed by a very small amount of oxygen gas even in the deoxygenated state when irradiated with radiation such as γ-ray irradiation. In particular, oxidative degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone occurs, and hydrogen peroxide is generated, leading to the above-described undesirable degradation reaction. Conversely, if the relative humidity exceeds 90% RH (25 ° C.), condensation may occur in the packaging bag, and the quality of the blood purifier may be reduced.

  The relative humidity referred to in the present invention is represented by the formula of relative humidity (% RH) = p / P × 100 using a water vapor partial pressure (p) at 25 ° C. and a saturated water vapor pressure (P) at 25 ° C. The measurement was performed by inserting and sealing a sensor of a temperature / humidity measuring device (Ondotori RH type, manufactured by T & D) into the packaging bag.

  The mechanism by which the degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone is suppressed by making the relative humidity of the space inside the packaging bag over 40% RH (25 ° C.) is presumed as follows. Degradation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone is accelerated by the presence of oxygen. In the present invention, the inside of the packaging bag is in a state in which oxidation is suppressed, that is, maintained in a substantially oxygen-free state, but a complete oxygen-free state is difficult, and a trace amount of oxygen gas is present. . Accordingly, the degradation reaction is promoted by the contact of polyvinyl pyrrolidone present on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane with this trace amount of oxygen gas present in the space inside the packaging bag. Therefore, the degradation reaction of polyvinyl pyrrolidone starts with polyvinyl pyrrolidone present on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane. Although the reason is unknown, it has been empirically recognized that the above degradation reaction is suppressed by increasing the water content in the hollow fiber membrane. The polyvinyl pyrrolidone present in the hollow fiber membrane is localized. Therefore, when the relative humidity in the packaging bag becomes high, water vapor existing in the packaging bag is selectively adsorbed on the localized portion of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane, and the absorbed water deteriorates the polyvinyl pyrrolidone. It is considered that the reaction is suppressed. Therefore, it is presumed that a great suppression effect is expressed by increasing the humidity. On the other hand, it is known that a hollow fiber membrane containing polyvinylpyrrolidone has a humidity control function, that is, an absorption and desorption property (for example, JP-A-2004-97918). Therefore, when the relative humidity in the packaging bag is low, the moisture adsorbed on the polyvinylpyrrolidone present on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane is released to the space inside the packaging bag, and in particular, the polyvinylpyrrolidone present on the extreme surface subject to the above-mentioned deterioration. It is presumed that the amount of adsorbed moisture becomes low and deterioration is accelerated. It is presumed that the relative humidity in the packaging bag greatly affects the suppression of the degradation reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone due to the synergistic effect of these phenomena.

As a method of satisfying the above two requirements, for example, a blood purifier filled with a polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle containing polyvinylpyrrolidone having a water content of 0.8 to 600% by mass is combined with an oxygen scavenger along with oxygen permeation. degree is ^{10cm 3 / m 2 / 24h /} MPa (20 ℃, 90% RH) or less, the water vapor permeability of ^{50g / m 2 / 24h / MPa} (40 ℃, 90% RH) and sealed with packaging bag or less And a method of irradiating with radiation in a state where the relative humidity at 25 ° C. of the atmosphere in the packaging bag exceeds 40% RH.

  The oxygen scavenger used in the above method is used to absorb oxygen in the packaging bag and form a substantial oxygen scavenging state. Therefore, it is not limited as long as it has a deoxygenating function. For example, those described above are suitable.

The packaging bag used in the present invention needs to have a function of forming a space that is deoxygenated by the oxygen scavenger and maintaining the deoxygenated state for a long period of time. Therefore, it is necessary to be made of a material having a low oxygen gas permeability. Oxygen permeability ^{10cm 3 / m 2 / 24h /} MPa (20 ℃, 90% RH) preferably less. ^{8cm 3 / m 2 / 24h /} MPa (20 ℃, 90% RH) more preferably ^{less, 6cm 3 / m 2 / 24h} / MPa (20 ℃, 90% RH) more preferably less, 4cm ³ / m ² / 24 h / MPa (20 ° C., 90% RH) or less is more preferable.
Oxygen permeability ^{10cm 3 / m 2 / 24h /} MPa (20 ℃, 90% RH) If you exceed, even if sealed in the packaging bag, the oxygen gas is passed through from the packaging bag outside the packaging bag This is not preferable because the oxygen concentration increases and the substantial deoxygenation state cannot be maintained.

As described above, in the present invention, the hollow fiber membrane filled in the blood purifier needs to maintain a specific moisture content. Therefore, the packaging bag in the present invention is preferably made of a material having a low water vapor permeability. ^{50g / m 2 / 24h / MPa} (40 ℃, 90% RH) preferably less. ^{40g / m 2 / 24h / MPa} (40 ℃, 90% RH) more preferably ^{less, 30g / m 2 / 24h /} MPa (40 ℃, 90% RH) more preferably ^{less, 20g / m 2 / 24h /} MPa (40 ° C., 90% RH) or less is more preferable. ^{50g / m 2 / 24h / MPa} (40 ℃, RH 90%) If you exceed, even if sealed in the packaging bag, in order to pass steam through the packing bag, drying of the hollow fiber membrane progresses the This is not preferable because the preferable water content cannot be maintained.

  The material and configuration of the packaging bag used in the present invention are arbitrary without limitation as long as they have the characteristics described above. In a preferred embodiment, the material is made of an impermeable material for both oxygen gas and water vapor such as aluminum foil, aluminum vapor deposited film, inorganic oxide vapor deposited film such as silica and / or alumina, and vinylidene chloride polymer composite film. is there. Further, the sealing method in the packaging bag is not limited and is arbitrary, and examples thereof include a heat sealing method, an impulse sealing method, a fusing sealing method, a frame sealing method, an ultrasonic sealing method, and a high frequency sealing method. A composite material composed of a composite of the film material and the above-described impermeable material is preferable. In particular, both the impervious and heat-sealable functions, in which the outer layer is made of polyester film, the intermediate layer is made of aluminum foil, and the inner layer is made of polyethylene film, are made of aluminum foil that can substantially block oxygen gas and water vapor. It is preferable to apply a laminated sheet having the same.

  The method for setting the humidity in the packaging bag within the above range is not limited. For example, (1) When a blood purifier is sealed with a packaging bag, a humidity-controlled gas is injected into the packaging bag or sealed in a conditioned environment. (2) Depending on the moisture content of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane Examples thereof include a method of adjusting, (3) using a deoxidizing agent that releases moisture, and (4) simultaneously sealing a humidity control agent together with the deoxidizing agent.

  The said humidity control agent will not be restrict | limited, if it has the characteristic which makes the relative humidity of the space in a packaging bag the said range by an absorption and moisture release function. As the humidity control agent, B-type silica gel is widely used, but is not limited. For example, as a humidity control agent similar to B-type silica gel, absorption and release can be achieved by sharpening the pore distribution of silica gel or by combining a humidity control agent composed of an alkali metal compound or an alkaline earth metal compound. Examples thereof include porous inorganic particles such as improved B-type silica gel, mesoporous silica alumina gel, mesoporous hollow aluminum silicate, zeolite and the like having improved wet characteristics. Also, particles made of water-absorbing polymer such as sodium acrylate cross-linked polymer, polyethylene glycol chain, polyvinylpyrrolidone chain, etc., blended or alloyed, composite particles in which the water-absorbing polymer is combined with inorganic microcapsules, etc. It may be. The shape of the humidity control agent is not particularly limited, and may be any of powder, granule, lump, sheet, and the like. It is preferable to use powdery and granular materials by packaging them with a moisture-permeable packaging material. Moreover, you may use as a composite_body | complex combined with a film, a sheet | seat, paper, a nonwoven fabric, a woven fabric, etc. In this case, the composite substrate is preferably made of a hydrophilic material. Further, the humidity control agent particles may be combined with a hydrophilic binder and combined with a base material made of a general-purpose material such as polyester or polyolefin. In the case of a humidity control agent comprising a water-absorbing polymer, the polymer may be used directly as a film or sheet. Moreover, you may use in shapes, such as paper, a nonwoven fabric, and a woven fabric, as a fiber. Moreover, you may use it as a shape of a foam sheet or a home using a foaming agent. For example, humidity control sheets impregnated with water-absorbing sheets (paper, non-woven fabrics, woven fabrics) with inorganic salt humidity control agents such as ammonium chloride, water, surfactants, etc., sodium polyacrylate, inorganics such as magnesium metasilicate aluminate A sheet-like hydrogel fixed with a network-structured water-absorbing polymer crosslinked with a crosslinking agent can be suitably used.

  It is preferable to use the humectant after seasoning in an environment having a relative humidity of 80 to 90% RH at 25 ° C. in advance.

  When implemented by the above method, the atmosphere around the hollow fiber membrane filled in the blood purifier needs to be maintained in a substantially deoxygenated state. Therefore, the opening of the blood purifier needs to be in an open state.

  The above-described method using deaerated water is referred to as a deaerated water method, and the method using an oxygen scavenger is referred to as an oxygen scavenger method.

  In the present invention, in the oxygen scavenger method, it is preferable to irradiate the radiation after sealing the packaging bag, or in the case of the degassing water method, after at least 48 hours have passed after sealing. . More preferably 72 hours or more. However, if the time until irradiation with radiation after sealing or sealing is too long, miscellaneous bacteria may grow. Therefore, it is preferable to perform the irradiation within 10 days after sealing or sealing. More preferably, it is within 7 days, and more preferably within 5 days. There is no limitation on the temperature at the time from sealing to irradiation with radiation, for example, room temperature. If the irradiation treatment is performed in a state of less than 48 hours, the expression of water permeability performance during priming may be reduced.

  The reason why the expression of water permeability performance during priming changes depending on the elapsed time until irradiation treatment is unknown, but in the oxygen scavenger method, the trace amount of oxygen adsorbed on the hollow fiber membrane surface is deoxygenated. Desorption due to the deoxygenation effect of the agent, and in the case of the degassing water method, transfer to degassing water localized around the trace amount of oxygen adsorbed on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane. Therefore, it is presumed that the deterioration is caused by suppressing the deterioration reaction that inhibits the affinity between the film surface and water caused by radiation irradiation.

  As the radiation used in the present invention, α rays, β rays, γ rays, neutron rays, X rays, electron rays, ultraviolet rays, and ion beams are used. From the viewpoint of sterilization efficiency and ease of handling, γ rays or electron rays are used. Preferably used. The irradiation dose of radiation is not particularly limited as long as it is a dose capable of sterilization and crosslinking, but generally 10 to 30 kGy is preferable.

  The oxygen scavenger method and the degassed water method described above have the following characteristics, respectively.

  The oxygen scavenger method can also be applied to a blood purifier filled with a low moisture content hollow fiber membrane having a moisture content of less than 5% by mass in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane, and is suitable for weight reduction. However, an oxygen scavenger is necessary, and the packaging bag needs to use a material having high oxygen and water vapor barrier properties, which is disadvantageous in terms of economy. On the other hand, the degassing water method is advantageous in terms of economy because it is not essential to use an oxygen scavenger and a general-purpose material can be used for the packaging bag. However, the moisture content in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane is required to be 5% by mass or more, which is disadvantageous in terms of weight reduction. Each has contradictory characteristics, and can be selected and used as appropriate according to market requirements. For example, in the case of products for extremely cold regions, the oxygen scavenger method is suitable.

  In the present invention, as described above, the elution of polyvinyl pyrrolidone from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is preferably 10 ppm or less.

  When the elution amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone exceeds 10 ppm, side effects and complications during long-term dialysis may occur due to the eluted polyvinylpyrrolidone. The method for satisfying the characteristics is optional without limitation. For example, it can be achieved by setting the content of polyvinylpyrrolidone relative to the polysulfone resin to the above range or optimizing the film forming conditions of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. More preferably, the elution amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone is 8 ppm or less, more preferably 6 ppm or less, and still more preferably 4 ppm or less. The elution amount of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone is determined by quantification using an extract extracted by a method according to the elution test method of the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard. That is, the hollow fiber membrane is arbitrarily taken out from the dried hollow fiber membrane bundle and weighed 1.0 g. The extract obtained by adding 100 ml of RO water to this and performing extraction at 70 ° C. for 1 hour is quantified.

  A measure for reducing the elution amount of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone is optional without limitation, but the content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone relative to the polysulfone resin and the hollow fiber so that the hydrogen peroxide elution amount and the surface concentration of polyvinyl pyrrolidone described above are satisfied at the same time. It is preferable to optimize the film forming conditions and the cleaning method of the film. It is also effective to crosslink by irradiation.

  The blood purifier of the present invention is a hollow fiber when the hollow fiber membrane is taken out from the blood purifier after being stored at room temperature for one year or more after irradiation and the test defined by the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard is performed. The maximum value of UV (220 to 350 nm) absorbance in the membrane extract is preferably 0.10 or less. More preferably, the characteristics are maintained even after two years or more. Since the warranty period of the blood purifier is set to 3 years, it is particularly preferable that the characteristics are maintained for at least 3 years. It has been empirically confirmed that if the UV (220-350 nm) absorbance is maintained at 0.06 or less after 1 year, it can be maintained for 3 years.

  In the present invention, the proportion of the deformed hollow fiber contained in the adhesion end face of the blood purifier obtained by the above method is preferably 1% or less. Here, the deformed hollow fiber refers to a combination of a flat yarn, a crushed yarn, and a deformed yarn, and the flat shape means that the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the hollow fiber cross-sectional inner diameter is 1/2 or less, Is an extremely flat or substantially flattened one whose ratio of major axis to minor axis is 1/5 or less, and an irregular shape is a non-circular or non-elliptical one whose ratio of major axis to minor axis is unclear. . The proportion of the deformed hollow fiber membrane is more preferably 0.5% or less, and further preferably 0.1% or less. If it exceeds 1%, residual blood may be reduced.

  The method for imparting the above properties is not limited, but optimization of the above-described crimp imparting step is important. It is preferable to carry out the crimping method of the present invention described above.

  Hereinafter, the effectiveness of the present invention will be described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the evaluation method of the physical property in the following examples is as follows.

1. Measurement of water permeability The blood outlet circuit of the dialyzer (the outlet side from the pressure measurement point) is sealed with forceps and is subjected to total filtration. Purified water kept at 37 ° C is put into a pressurized tank, and the pressure is controlled by a regulator. The pure water is sent to a dialyzer kept warm in a 37 ° C constant temperature bath, and the amount of filtrate flowing out from the dialysate side is measured with a graduated cylinder. To do. The transmembrane pressure difference (TMP) is TMP = (Pi + Po) / 2
And Here, Pi is the dialyzer inlet side pressure, and Po is the dialyzer outlet side pressure. The TMP is changed at four points, the filtration flow rate is measured, and the water permeability (mL / hr / mmHg) is calculated from the slope of the relationship. At this time, the correlation coefficient between TMP and the filtration flow rate must be 0.999 or more. In order to reduce the pressure loss error due to the circuit, TMP is measured in the range of 100 mmHg or less. The water permeability of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is calculated from the membrane area and the water permeability of the dialyzer.
UFR (H) = UFR (D) / A
Here, UFR (H) is the water permeability of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (mL / m ² / hr / mmHg), UFR (D) is the water permeability of the dialyzer (mL / hr / mmHg), and A is the membrane area of the dialyzer. (M ² ).

2. Calculation of membrane area The membrane area of the dialyzer is obtained as a reference for the inner diameter of the hollow fiber membrane.
A = n × π × d × L
Here, n is the number of hollow fiber membranes in the dialyzer, π is the circumference, d is the inner diameter (m) of the hollow fiber membrane, and L is the effective length (m) of the hollow fiber membrane in the dialyzer.

3. Burst pressure Fill the dialysis solution side of a blood purifier consisting of about 10,000 hollow fiber membrane bundles with water and plug it. Dry air or nitrogen is fed from the blood side at room temperature and pressurized at a rate of 0.5 MPa per minute. The pressure is increased, and the air pressure when the hollow fiber membrane bundle bursts (bursts) with pressurized air and bubbles are generated in the liquid filled on the dialysate side is defined as the burst pressure.

4. Unevenness of thickness The cross section of 100 hollow fiber membranes is observed with a 200 times projector. In one field of view, the thickness of the thickest part and the thinnest part is measured with respect to one yarn cross section having the largest film thickness difference.
Thickness unevenness = thinnest part / thickest part thickening degree = 1, and the film thickness is perfectly uniform.

5. Elution amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone Extracted by the method defined in the dialysis artificial kidney device production standard, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the extract was quantified by a colorimetric method.
In the case of a dry hollow fiber membrane blood purifier, 100 ml of pure water is added to 1 g of a hollow fiber membrane bundle and extracted at 70 ° C. for 1 hour. The obtained extract (2.5 ml), 0.2 molar aqueous citric acid solution (1.25 ml) and 0.006 normal iodine aqueous solution (0.5 ml) were mixed well and allowed to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, and the absorbance at 470 nm was measured. Quantification was performed with a calibration curve obtained by measuring according to the above method using a standard polyvinylpyrrolidone.
In the case of the wet hollow fiber membrane blood purifier, physiological saline was passed through the dialysate side flow path of the blood purifier at 500 mL / min for 5 minutes, and then passed through the blood side flow path at 200 mL / min. Thereafter, the solution was passed through for 3 minutes while filtering from the blood side to the dialysate side at 200 mL / min, and then freeze-dried to obtain a dry membrane, and the above quantification was performed using the dry membrane.

6. UV (220-350 nm) Absorbance Absorbance in the wavelength range of 200 to 350 nm using a spectrophotometer (manufactured by Hitachi, U-3000) of the extract extracted by the method defined in the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard And the maximum absorbance in this wavelength range was determined.
In the measurement, the hollow fiber membrane bundle was equally divided into 10 pieces of 2.7 cm in the longitudinal direction, and 1 g of the hollow fiber membrane bundle in a dry state was weighed from each portion and measured for all samples.
In the case of a wet hollow fiber membrane blood purifier, measurement was performed using a dry membrane obtained by processing in the same manner as the measurement of the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone eluted.

7. Quantitative determination of hydrogen peroxide TiCl ₄ mixed in an equimolar ratio with an ammonium chloride buffer solution (PH 8.6) 0.2 ml in 2.6 ml of the extract extracted by the method defined in the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard A mixture of a hydrogen chloride solution of 4- (2-pyridylazo) resorcinol with an aqueous Na salt solution was added, 0.2 ml of a coloring reagent prepared to 0.4 mM was further added, and the mixture was heated at 50 ° C. for 5 minutes, and then brought to room temperature. After cooling, the absorbance at 508 nm was measured. A quantitative value was obtained using a calibration curve obtained by measuring in the same manner using a sample.
In the measurement, the hollow fiber membrane bundle was equally divided into 10 pieces of 2.7 cm in the longitudinal direction, and 1 g of the hollow fiber membrane bundle in a dry state was weighed from each portion and measured for all samples.
In the case of a wet hollow fiber membrane blood purifier, measurement was performed using a dry membrane obtained by processing in the same manner as the measurement of the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone eluted. Moreover, when quantifying about the hollow fiber membrane bundle of a wet state, it measured about the dry membrane obtained by drying by the freeze-dry method.

8. Storage stability of hollow fiber membrane bundles The dry hollow fiber membrane bundles obtained in each of the examples and comparative examples were kept in a dry box (atmosphere: air) adjusted to a humidity of 50% RH for 3 months. After storage, UV (220-350 nm) absorbance was measured by a method defined in the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard. Stability was determined by the degree of increase in UV (220-350 nm) absorbance due to the storage. The degree of increase was obtained by equally dividing the hollow fiber membrane bundle into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction, measuring each sample, and determining the maximum value. Those whose maximum value did not exceed 0.10 were considered acceptable.

9. Measurement of oxygen concentration in the packaging bag and in water The oxygen concentration in the packaging bag was measured by gas chromatography. A column packed with molecular sieve (Molecular sieve 13X-S mesh 60/80 manufactured by GL Science) was used, the carrier gas was analyzed using argon gas, the detector was analyzed using a heat conduction method, and the column temperature was 60 ° C. The gas in the packaging bag was collected by piercing the syringe needle directly into the unopened packaging bag.
The oxygen concentration in water was measured using a dissolved oxygen meter OM-51-L1 manufactured by HORIBA.

10. Measurement of inner diameter and film thickness of hollow fiber membrane The hollow fiber membrane is cut with a sharp razor perpendicular to the length direction, and the cross section is observed with a microscope at a magnification of 200 times. The inner diameter value and the outer diameter value are measured at n = 5, and the average value is calculated.
Film thickness [μm] = {(outer diameter) − (inner diameter)} / 2

11. Storage stability of blood purifier After storing the blood purifier after irradiation at room temperature for one year, UV (220-350 nm) absorbance was measured by the method described above. Stability was determined by the degree of increase in UV (220-350 nm) absorbance due to the storage. The degree of increase was obtained by equally dividing the hollow fiber membrane bundle into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction, measuring each sample, and determining the maximum value. Those whose maximum value did not exceed 0.10 were considered acceptable.

12. Moisture content of hollow fiber membrane The moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane was measured by measuring the mass (g) of the hollow fiber membrane before drying, and then performing vacuum drying under reduced pressure (-750 mmHg or less) for 12 hours, after drying The mass (g) of the hollow fiber membrane is measured. The mass difference between before and after drying is determined as a weight loss (g) in% based on the mass after drying (g). The moisture content is determined by the following formula.
(Weight loss / mass after drying) × 100 = moisture content (mass%)
Here, by setting the mass of the hollow fiber membrane within the range of 1 to 2 g, it can be in an absolutely dry state (a state in which there is no further mass change) after 2 hours.

13. Content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the outermost layer on the inner and outer surfaces of the hollow fiber membrane The content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ESCA method).
One hollow fiber membrane was cut obliquely with a razor so that a part of the inner surface was exposed, and was attached to a sample stage so that the inner and outer surfaces could be measured, and measurement was performed by ESCA. The measurement conditions are as follows.
Measuring device: ULVAC-Phi ESCA5800
Excitation X-ray: MgKα ray X-ray output: 14 kV, 25 mA
Photoelectron escape angle: 45 °
Analysis diameter: 400μmφ
Pass energy: 29.35 eV
Resolution: 0.125 eV / step
Degree of vacuum: about 10 ⁻⁷ Pa or less From the measured value (N) of nitrogen and the measured value (S) of sulfur, the polyvinylpyrrolidone content on the surface was calculated by the following formula.
<Polyvinylpyrrolidone-added PES (polyethersulfone) membrane>
Polyvinylpyrrolidone content (H polyvinylpyrrolidone) [mass%]
= 100 × (N × 111) / (N × 111 + S × 232)
<Polyvinylpyrrolidone-added PSf (polysulfone) membrane>
Polyvinylpyrrolidone content (H polyvinylpyrrolidone) [mass%]
= 100 × (N × 111) / (N × 111 + S × 442)

14. Measuring method of polyvinyl pyrrolidone content in the whole hollow fiber membrane The hollow fiber membrane was dried at 80 ° C. for 48 hours using a vacuum dryer, and 10 mg thereof was CHN coder (manufactured by Yanaco Analytical Industries, MT-6). The content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone was calculated from the nitrogen content by the following formula.
Polyvinylpyrrolidone content (mass%) = nitrogen content (mass%) × 111/14

15. Priming property In the state where the dialysate side port of the blood purifier is covered, distilled water for injection is allowed to flow from the blood side inlet port at 200 mL / min, and 10 seconds have passed since the distilled water for injection reached the outlet port. In the meantime, the blood purifier container was tapped 5 times with forceps to defoam, and the number of bubbles passed for 1 minute was visually confirmed. The determination was made according to the following criteria.
10 / min or less: ○
11 / min or more and less than 30 / min: △
30 pieces / minute or more: ×

16. Urea clearance Using a blood purifier with a membrane area of 1.5 m ² , urea clearance is measured according to the dialyzer performance evaluation standard issued by the Japanese Dialysis Medical Association at a blood flow rate of 200 ml / min and a dialysate flow rate of 500 ml / min. .

17. Yield elongation Yield elongation was measured using a yarn tensile tester (Instron (Model No. TM) manufactured by Instron Engineering Corporation). A single yarn having a total length of 15 cm was fixed to a chuck (10 cm between chucks) immersed in water, and a full-scale 100 g cell connected to the chuck was raised at a speed of 20 mm / min. The breaking elongation and breaking strength at which the yarn was cut from the chart paper were read and used as the SS curve. When there is no maximum point as shown in FIG. 4, an auxiliary line with an extended initial gradient is provided. The point where two auxiliary lines intersect is defined as the yield point, and the strength at that point is the yield strength and the elongation is the yield elongation. In addition, in the case of having a local maximum point as shown in FIG. 5, a point where an auxiliary line with an extended initial slope and an auxiliary line with zero inclination at the local maximum point is defined as a yield point, and the elongation at that point is defined as the yield elongation. And

18, Crimp wavelength and amplitude The crimp wavelength represents the length from the top of the mountain shown in FIG. 6 to the top of the next mountain. In actual measurement, the number of periods in 100 mm length is counted. The number was expressed as a value obtained by dividing 100 mm. In addition, the amplitude was measured by measuring the wave height from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley, and was set to a half value thereof.

19. Ratio of deformed hollow fiber Using a 50x microscope, observe the total number of hollow fiber membrane cross sections of the upper and lower blood purifiers, and determine the number of flat, deformed, and obstructed hollow fiber membranes. Measured and displayed by dividing by 2. A deformed hollow fiber refers to a combination of a flat yarn, a crushed yarn, and a deformed yarn, and a flat shape refers to a ratio of a major axis to a minor axis of the hollow fiber cross-sectional inner diameter of 1/2 or less. An extreme flattened or substantially crushed flat having a minor axis ratio of 1/5 or less, and an irregular shape are non-circular or non-oval having an unclear ratio of major axis to minor axis.

Example 1
In a kneading and dissolving machine that expresses a kneading effect by so-called planetary motion in which two frame-type blades rotate and revolve, 1 part by mass of polyethersulfone (manufactured by Sumika Chemtex, Sumika Excel (registered trademark) 4800P), 0.175 parts by mass of polyvinylpyrrolidone (BASF Koridone (registered trademark) K90) and 1 part by mass of dimethylacetamide (DMAc) were charged, and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours and kneaded. Subsequently, a mixed solution of 3.02 parts by mass of DMAc and 0.16 parts by mass of RO water was added over 1 hour. Stirring was continued for an additional hour by increasing the number of revolutions of the stirrer and dissolved uniformly. At this time, kneading and dissolution were performed in a nitrogen atmosphere. The temperature during kneading and dissolution was cooled so as not to exceed 40 ° C. The stirring fluid number and stirring Reynolds number at the final dissolution were 1.0 and 100, respectively. After the defoaming was completed, the inside of the system was again purged with nitrogen and maintained in a weakly pressurized state. The polyvinyl pyrrolidone having a hydrogen peroxide content of 130 ppm was used. The membrane-forming solution was passed through a two-stage sintered filter of 15 μm and 15 μm in order, and then simultaneously discharged together with 35 mass% DMAc aqueous solution as a hollow forming agent from 60 tube-in orifice nozzles heated to 80 ° C. After passing through a 650 mm dry section cut off from the outside by the above, it was coagulated in a 15 mass% DMAc aqueous solution at 75 ° C. The hollow fiber membrane pulled up from the coagulation bath was passed through a water washing tank at 85 ° C. for 45 seconds to remove the solvent and excess hydrophilic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone. A crimping device having a crimping mechanism having a structure as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is obtained by combining the hollow fiber membranes that have undergone the water washing bath in units of 12 at the place where the water washing bath has been exited, and without undergoing a drying step. Using a roller with a pitch of 10 mm, a roller diameter of 5 mm, and a width of the upper and lower meanders of the yarn set to 5 mm, the chain runs freely between the chains with rollers and the yarn runs at room temperature. I let you. In the step of crimping the hollow fiber membranes, the continuously supplied hollow fiber membranes were divided and run in the width direction in units of combined yarns, and were rolled up in a wet state. The yield elongation [A] of the hollow fiber membrane was measured and found to be 2.5%. Moreover, the outer diameter of the hollow fiber membrane is about 260 μm, and the outermost stretch [B] on the opposite side to the side of the hollow fiber membrane calculated from the roller diameter is 10.4% if flattening is ignored. there were. Therefore, [B] / [A] was 4.16 times. A polyethylene film was wound around a bundle of about 10,000 hollow fiber membranes, cut to a length of 27 cm (hereinafter referred to as a bundle), and washed in water at 121 ° C. for 30 minutes × 3 times. .

The obtained wet hollow fiber membrane bundle was introduced into a microwave dryer having an exhaust system for reducing the pressure of the far infrared heater and the oven, and dried under the following conditions. After heating the hollow fiber membrane bundle for 30 minutes under a reduced pressure of 7 kPa at an output of 1.5 kW, the microwave irradiation was stopped and at the same time the reduced pressure was set to 1.5 kPa and maintained for 3 minutes. Subsequently, the degree of vacuum was returned to 7 kPa, the microwave was irradiated and the hollow fiber membrane bundle was heated at an output of 0.5 kW for 10 minutes, then the microwave was cut and the degree of vacuum of 0.7 kPa was maintained for 3 minutes. Furthermore, the degree of vacuum was returned to 7 kPa, and microwave irradiation was performed for 8 minutes at an output of 0.2 kW to heat the hollow fiber membrane bundle. After the microwave cutting, the degree of vacuum was set to 0.5 kPa, and only the far infrared rays were irradiated for 10 minutes to finish drying the hollow fiber membrane bundle. The output of the far infrared heater was adjusted so that the temperature of the hollow fiber membrane bundle during drying was 50 ° C. or lower.
The maximum temperature reached on the surface of the hollow fiber membrane bundle at this time was 65 ° C. The moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle before drying is 330% by mass, the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle after the first stage is 34% by mass, and the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle after the second stage is 11% by mass. The water content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle after the third stage was 2.4% by mass. The hollow fiber membrane thus obtained had an inner diameter of 200 μm, a thickness of 30 μm, and a polyvinyl pyrrolidone content in the membrane of 3.5% by mass.

  The obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle was equally divided into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction, and 1 g of the hollow fiber membrane bundle in a dry state was weighed from each portion, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide eluted was measured. Hydrogen peroxide was stable at low levels at all sites. The obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle was stored in a dry state. Even after storage for 3 months, the maximum value of UV (220-350 nm) absorbance, which is the standard for approval of dialysis artificial kidney device manufacture for hollow fiber membrane bundles, is 0.04, and the standard value of 0.10 or less is maintained. The storage stability was good.

The obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle was loaded into a blood purifier container at a filling rate of 55% by volume, the ends were bonded with urethane resin, the resin was cut out, and the hollow fiber membrane end was opened to assemble the blood purifier. . The blood purifier is composed of two general-purpose oxygen scavengers (Tamotsu (registered trademark) manufactured by Oji Tac Co., Ltd.), a pore volume of 1.05 cc / g, a surface area of 320 m ² / g, and a silica gel having a particle size of 8 mesh and calcium chloride. An oxygen transmission rate and a water vapor transmission rate of 1 cm ³ / m ² each consisting of a modified silica gel B loaded with 10% by mass of a silica gel B in a paper pack and an outer layer made of polyester film, an intermediate layer made of aluminum foil, and an inner layer made of polyethylene film. -Sealed by a heat sealing method and sealed in a packaging bag made of an aluminum laminate sheet of 24 h · MPa (20 ° C, 90% RH) or less and 5 g / m ² · 24 h · MPa (40 ° C, 90% RH) or less. The humidity control agent used was seasoned in advance in an environment with a relative humidity of 85% RH for 24 hours. The package was stored at room temperature for 72 hours and then sterilized by irradiation with 25 kGy of γ rays. The oxygen concentration in the packaging bag of the package sealed simultaneously with the sterilized product was measured. It was in a substantially oxygen-free state at 0.1% or less. The relative humidity was 75% RH.

  The blood purifier was stored in a packaging bag and stored at room temperature for 1 year. The hollow fiber membrane was taken out from the blood purifier after one year storage, and the UV absorbance (220-350 nm) and hydrogen peroxide elution amount of the extract obtained according to the artificial kidney approval standard test in the hollow fiber membrane were measured. In these measurements, all of the 10 divided samples were measured and evaluated by the maximum value. In addition, the UV absorbance (220-350 nm) did not deteriorate even when γ-ray irradiation was performed, and the standard value of the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval reference test was less than 0.1.

  In addition, since the hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained in this example was crimped, the drift of the dialysate was suppressed and the urea clearance performance was excellent. Moreover, the performance variation between blood purifiers was small.

Further, the hollow fiber membrane had a small thickness deviation, and the crimp application process was optimized, and the hollow fiber membrane was less likely to be scratched and the perfect pressure was excellent. Further, when the hollow fiber membrane was taken out from the blood purifier and the outer surface was observed with a microscope, defects such as scratches were not observed. In addition, citrated fresh bovine blood was passed through the blood purifier at a blood flow rate of 200 mL / min and a filtration rate of 10 mL / min / m ² , but no blood cell leak was observed. Endotoxin filtered from the outside of the hollow fiber membrane to the inside of the hollow fiber membrane was below the detection limit, and was at a level with no problem.

  In addition, the storage stability of the blood purifier obtained in this example is good, and UV, which is a manufacturing approval standard for a dialysis artificial kidney device for a bundle of hollow fiber membranes filled in the blood purifier after storage for one year. The maximum value of (220-350 nm) absorbance was 0.05, and the standard value of 0.10 or less was maintained.

  These evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Example 1, a blood purifier was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the application of crimp was stopped. The characteristics of the obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle and blood purifier are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 4. Since the hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained in this comparative example was not crimped, the dialysate drifted and the urea clearance performance was inferior. Moreover, the performance variation between blood purifiers was large.

(Comparative Example 2)
In Example 1, polyvinyl pyrrolidone having a hydrogen peroxide content of 500 ppm was used as a raw material, the kneading and dissolution temperature was 85 ° C., nitrogen gas replacement in the raw material supply system and dissolution tank was stopped, and the number of washings of the hollow fiber membrane bundle was 1 The permitted hollow fiber membrane bundle in the wet state is changed to pass through a crimping device set so that the pitch between the rollers is 20 mm, the roller diameter is 5 mm, and the vertical meandering width of the yarn is 3 mm. A selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle and a blood purifier were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that drying was performed under normal pressure by microwave irradiation until the water content became 0.5% by mass. The yield elongation [A] of the hollow fiber membrane was measured and found to be 2.3%. Moreover, the outer diameter of the hollow fiber membrane is about 258 μm, and the outermost stretch [B] on the opposite side to the side of the hollow fiber membrane calculated from the roller diameter is 10.3% when flattening is ignored. there were. Therefore, [B] / [A] was 4.48 times. Tables 1, 2 and 4 show the characteristics of the obtained selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle and blood purifier. The hollow fiber membrane had a large amount of elution of hydrogen peroxide and was inferior in storage stability. Furthermore, the UV (220-350 nm) absorbance was high and varied greatly depending on the sampling location, and although it was mild, partial sticking occurred and the workability of assembling the blood purifier was not good. In addition, the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane in the blood purifier after receiving the γ-ray irradiation obtained in this comparative example had a high hydrogen peroxide elution amount, and the storage stability of the blood purifier was also inferior.

(Comparative Example 3)
In Example 1, the cleaning of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle is stopped, and it is passed through a crimping device set such that the pitch between the rollers is 20 mm, the roller diameter is 15 mm, and the vertical meandering width of the yarn is 10 mm. A selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle and a blood purifier were obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the wet hollow fiber membrane bundle was changed and dried in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2. The yield elongation [A] of the hollow fiber membrane was measured and found to be 2.3%. The outer diameter of the hollow fiber membrane is about 258 μm, and the outermost stretch [B] on the opposite side to the side of the hollow fiber membrane calculated from the roller diameter is 3.4% if flattening is ignored. there were. Therefore, [B] / [A] was 1.48 times. Tables 1, 2 and 4 show the characteristics of the obtained selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle and blood purifier. The PVP elution amount of the hollow fiber membrane after drying was 14 ppm. The poor cleaning of the hollow fiber membrane was considered.

  In addition, the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle and blood purifier obtained in this Comparative Example were of lower quality than those of Comparative Example 3.

(Comparative Example 4)
In Example 1, a hollow fiber membrane was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that all 60 hollow fiber membranes were combined and passed through a crimping device. Moreover, when the blood purifier was sealed in the packaging bag, a blood purifier package was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the humidity control agent was not added. The relative humidity in the packaging bag was 35% RH (25 ° C.). The characteristics of the obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle and blood purifier are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 4. Since the hollow fiber membrane obtained in this Comparative Example 4 was passed through the crimping device in a combined state, the wavelength and amplitude varied among the hollow fiber membranes, and many flatnesses and blockages were observed. The obtained blood purifier increased the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide by γ-ray irradiation. Therefore, the storage stability of the blood purifier was also inferior, and the UV absorbance (220-350 nm) was also greatly deteriorated with the storage time. This is considered to be caused by the deterioration of the polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the hollow fiber membrane bundle due to the irradiation of γ rays because the humidity in the atmosphere around the hollow fiber membrane bundle at the time of γ ray irradiation is low. Moreover, the productivity of blood purifiers decreased, and clearance performance varied among blood purifiers.

(Comparative Example 5)
In Example 1, a hollow fiber membrane bundle was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the film thickness of the hollow fiber membrane was 70 μm. A blood purifier was produced in the same manner as in the example so that the obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle had a filling rate of 55% by volume. Moreover, the obtained blood purifier obtained the blood purifier package in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the sealing of the oxygen scavenger in the packaging bag was stopped. The characteristics of the obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle and blood purifier are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 4. The blood purifier obtained in Comparative Example 5 was of low quality, as was the blood purifier obtained in Comparative Example 4. In this comparative example, since the oxygen scavenger was not enclosed, the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere around the hollow fiber membrane bundle at the time of γ-ray irradiation was not high and the oxidation was not suppressed. This is considered to be caused by the deterioration of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the membrane bundle. Further, since the hollow fiber membrane was thick, the crimp was relaxed when the hollow fiber membrane bundle was dried and when the blood purifier was prepared, and clearance performance was not exhibited.

(Example 2)
1 part by weight of polyethersulfone (manufactured by Sumika Chemtex, Sumika Excel (registered trademark) 4800P), 2 parts by weight of polyvinylpyrrolidone (Collidon (registered trademark) K-90 by BASF), 1.5 parts by weight of DMAc It knead | mixed with the screw type kneader of the axis | shaft. The obtained kneaded material was put into a stirring type dissolution tank charged with 2.57 parts by mass of DMAc and 0.28 parts by mass of water, and stirred for 3 hours to dissolve. The kneading and dissolution were cooled so that the internal temperature did not rise above 30 ° C. Next, after the pressure in the system was reduced to −700 mmHg using a vacuum pump, the dissolution tank was immediately sealed and allowed to stand for 10 minutes so that the solvent and the like would volatilize and the film forming solution composition would not change. This operation was repeated three times to degas the film forming solution. The polyvinyl pyrrolidone having a hydrogen peroxide content of 100 ppm was used, and the supply tank in the raw material supply system and the dissolution tank were replaced with nitrogen gas. Further, the Froude number and the stirring Reynolds number at the time of dissolution were 1.1 and 120, respectively. The obtained film-forming solution was passed through a two-stage filter of 15 μm and 15 μm, and then degassed in advance at −700 mmHg for 2 hours as a hollow forming agent from a tube-in orifice nozzle heated to 70 ° C. 50 mass at 50 ° C. The solution was discharged at the same time as the% DMAc aqueous solution, passed through a 350 mm air gap portion cut off from the outside air by a spinning tube, and then coagulated in water at 60 ° C. The nozzle slit width of the tube-in-orifice nozzle used was an average of 45 μm, the maximum was 45.5 μm, the minimum was 44.5 μm, the ratio of the maximum and minimum slit widths was 1.02, and the draft ratio was 1.06. It was. The hollow fiber membrane bundle pulled up from the coagulation bath was passed through a water washing tank at 85 ° C. for 45 seconds to remove the solvent and excess polyvinylpyrrolidone. A hollow fiber membrane that has undergone a water washing bath is set at room temperature as the chain travels between chains with freely rotating rollers set so that the pitch between the rollers is 10 mm, the roller diameter is 5 mm, and the width of the thread meandering is 5 mm. It was run at, and crimped, and then rolled up in a wet state. A polyethylene film similar to that of Example 1 was wrapped around a bundle of about 10,000 hollow fiber membranes, and then washed by immersing twice in a 40 vol% isopropanol aqueous solution at 30 ° C. for 30 minutes.

  The obtained wet selective permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle was dried in the same manner as in Example 1. The moisture content of the dry selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane was 2.8% by mass. The roller for changing the yarn path during the spinning process was a mirror-finished surface, and the fixing guide was a satin-finished surface. The obtained hollow fiber membrane had an inner diameter of 200.0 μm, a film thickness of 28.2 μm, and the content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone relative to polyethersulfone was 3.3% by mass. Some of these manufacturing conditions are shown in Table 1.

  The obtained dry permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle was equally divided into 10 pieces of 2.7 cm in the longitudinal direction, and 1 g of the hollow fiber membrane bundle in a dry state was weighed from each part, and the hydrogen peroxide elution amount was quantified. . The hydrogen peroxide elution amount was stable at a low level in all parts, and the storage stability of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle was excellent.

  A blood purifier was assembled using the hollow fiber membrane bundle thus obtained. As a result of the leak test, no adhesion failure caused by the sticking of the hollow fiber membranes was observed. Switch the blood purifier to an oxygen release agent (ageless Z-200PT (registered trademark) manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Ltd.), stop using the humidity control agent, seal the packaging bag and store it until sterilization Sterilization was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the time was 216 hours. When the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle was cut out from the blood purifier after γ-irradiation and subjected to the eluate test, the polyvinylpyrrolidone elution amount was 4 ppm, and the maximum hydrogen peroxide elution amount was 2 ppm. there were. In addition, the storage stability of the blood purifier obtained in this example is good, and the maximum UV (220-350 nm) absorbance, which is the approval standard for manufacturing a dialysis artificial kidney device for a hollow fiber membrane bundle after storage for one year. The value was 0.06, and the reference value of 0.1 or less was maintained. Further, when the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle was taken out from the blood purifier and the outer surface was observed with a microscope, no defects such as scratches were observed. Therefore, the burst pressure was high and no blood cell leak was observed in the blood leak test using bovine blood. Moreover, since the hollow fiber membrane bundle was crimped like the blood purifier of Example 1, the drift of the dialysate was suppressed and the performance of urea clearance was excellent. Moreover, the performance variation between blood purifiers was small.

  Moreover, the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone eluted from the blood purifier was low, the water permeability was excellent during priming, and the blood purifier was highly practical.

  The evaluation results of the obtained selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane and blood purifier are shown in Tables 1 to 3.

(Comparative Example 6)
16% by mass of polyethersulfone (manufactured by Sumika Chemtex, Sumika Excel (registered trademark) 5200P), 5.4% by mass of polyvinylpyrrolidone (Collidon (registered trademark) K-90, manufactured by BASF), 75% dimethylacetamide (DMAc). 6% by mass and 3% by mass of water were directly charged into a dissolution tank having a stirrer and dissolved at 75 ° C. At this time, the dissolution fluid number and the stirring Reynolds number were 1.0 and 120, respectively. Subsequently, the film forming solution was defoamed. The polyvinyl pyrrolidone having a hydrogen peroxide content of 250 ppm was used, and the supply tank in the raw material supply system and the dissolution tank were not replaced with nitrogen gas. The membrane-forming solution was passed through a 30 μm filter, and simultaneously discharged from a tube-in orifice nozzle heated to 60 ° C. using a 30% by mass DMAc aqueous solution at 50 ° C. as a hollow forming agent, and was blocked from the outside air by a spinning tube. After passing through a 600 mm dry part, it was solidified in a DMAc aqueous solution having a concentration of 10% by mass and 60 ° C. The nozzle slit width of the tube-in-orifice nozzle used was an average of 100 μm, the maximum was 110 μm, the minimum was 90 μm, the ratio between the maximum value and the minimum value of the slit width was 1.22, and the draft ratio was 2.4. The obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle was passed through a 40 ° C. water washing tank for 45 seconds to remove the solvent and excess polyvinylpyrrolidone, and the pitch between the cylindrical pins was 10 mm, the pin diameter was 2 mm, and the width of the upper and lower meanders of the yarn was A chain with a cylindrical pin with a textured surface set to a thickness of 10 mm was run at room temperature along with the chain running to give a crimp, and then rolled up in a wet state and dried in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2. The obtained hollow fiber membrane bundle had an inner diameter of 201 μm and a film thickness of 34 μm. The yield elongation [A] of the hollow fiber membrane was measured and found to be 2.4%. The outer diameter of the hollow fiber membrane is about 269 μm, and the outermost stretch [B] on the opposite side to the side of the hollow fiber membrane calculated from the roller diameter is 26.9% when flattening is ignored. there were. Therefore, [B] / [A] was 11.2 times. The selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle obtained in this comparative example has a high level of elution amount of hydrogen peroxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide elution amount varies greatly depending on the sampling location.

  Using the permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle thus obtained, a blood purifier was assembled and sterilized in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2. When the hollow fiber membrane bundle was cut out from the blood purifier and subjected to the eluate test, the polyvinylpyrrolidone elution amount was 23 ppm and the maximum hydrogen peroxide elution amount was 22 ppm. Since the permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle in the blood purifier obtained in this comparative example had a high hydrogen peroxide elution amount, the storage stability was poor. The blood purifier obtained in this comparative example can not maintain the maximum value of UV (220-350 nm) absorbance, which is already a dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard, after storage for about 7 months. It was. In addition, the hollow fiber membrane had a high thickness deviation and a poor partial pressure. Therefore, the blood purifier was filled with pressurized air at a pressure of 0.1 MPa, and a blood purifier having a pressure drop for 10 seconds of 30 mmAq or less was used for the test. In the blood leak test using bovine blood, two of 30 blood purifiers had blood cell leaks. From the fact that the uneven thickness is small and the outer surface hole diameter is too large, it seems that pinholes are generated and / or broken.

  These results are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 4.

(Example 3)
In the same manner as in Example 2, 18% by mass of polysulfone (P-3500 manufactured by Amoco), 9% by mass of polyvinylpyrrolidone (Collidon (registered trademark) K-60 manufactured by BASF), 68% by mass of dimethylacetamide (DMAc), A film forming solution consisting of 5% by mass of water was prepared. As the polyvinyl pyrrolidone, one having a hydrogen peroxide content of 100 ppm was used. The obtained film-forming solution was passed through a two-stage filter of 15 μm and 15 μm, and simultaneously with a 55 mass% DMAc aqueous solution at 60 ° C. that had been degassed in advance as a hollow forming agent from a tube-in orifice nozzle heated to 40 ° C. After discharging and passing through a 600 mm air gap portion cut off from the outside air by a spinning tube, it was solidified in 50 ° C. water. The nozzle slit width of the tube-in-orifice nozzle used was an average of 60 μm, the maximum 61 μm, the minimum 59 μm, the ratio of the maximum and minimum slit widths was 1.03, and the draft ratio was 1.09. The hollow fiber membrane pulled up from the coagulation bath was passed through a water washing tank at 85 ° C. for 45 seconds to remove the solvent and excess polyvinylpyrrolidone, applied with crimp in the same manner as in Example 1, and wound up in a wet state. A bundle of about 10,000 hollow fiber membranes was immersed in pure water and washed in an autoclave at 121 ° C. for 1 hour. A polyethylene film similar to that in Example 1 was wound around the hollow fiber membrane bundle after washing, and then dried in the same manner as in Example 1. The roller for changing the yarn path during the spinning process was a mirror-finished surface, and the fixing guide was a satin-finished surface. The resulting hollow fiber membrane had an inner diameter of 201.0 μm and a film thickness of 44.0 μm. The water content was 2.3% by mass, and the content of polyvinyl pyrrolidone relative to polysulfone was 4.2% by mass. As is clear from Tables 3 and 4, the hydrogen peroxide elution amount was stable at a low level in all sites. Therefore, the storage stability of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle was good. Some of these manufacturing conditions are shown in Table 1.

  A blood purifier was assembled using the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle thus obtained. After the RO side was filled with deoxygenated water having a dissolved oxygen concentration of 0.05 ppm obtained by passing RO water through the hollow fiber membrane type deaerator into the blood purifier, the blood side was filled at 200 ml / min for 5 minutes. The water content in the hollow fiber membrane was adjusted to 100 mass% by stopping and expelling the filling water with nitrogen gas at 60 ° C. at a pressure of 0.1 MPa and continuing the ventilation. The above operation was performed in a nitrogen atmosphere. The oxygen concentration in the blood purifier was 0.5% by volume. All the blood and dialysate inlets and outlets of the blood purifier dried in the environment are sealed with caps made of ethylene-propylene synthetic rubber, the outer layer is a biaxially stretched polyamide film with a thickness of 25 μm and the inner layer is unstretched with a thickness of 50 μm. It sealed in the packaging bag which consists of a laminated body of a polyethylene film.

  After sealing and storing at room temperature for 120 hours, 25 kGy of γ rays were irradiated. When the hollow fiber membrane bundle was cut out from the blood purifier and subjected to the eluate test, the polyvinylpyrrolidone elution amount was 4 ppm, and the maximum hydrogen peroxide elution amount was 3 ppm, which was a satisfactory level. The blood purifier was filled with pressurized air at a pressure of 0.1 MPa, and a product that passed the leak test with a pressure drop for 10 seconds of 30 mmAq or less was used in subsequent tests. Further, when the hollow fiber membrane bundle was taken out from the blood purifier and the outer surface was observed with a microscope, defects such as scratches were not observed. In addition, citrated fresh cow blood was flowed to the blood purifier at a blood flow rate of 200 mL / min and a filtration rate of 10 mL / min, but no blood cell leak was observed. Endotoxin filtered from the outer side of the hollow fiber to the inner side of the hollow fiber was below the detection limit and was at a level with no problem. In addition, the storage stability of the blood purifier obtained in this example is good, and UV is the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard for the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle in the blood purifier after storage for one year. The maximum value of (220-350 nm) absorbance was 0.05, and the reference value of 0.1 or less was maintained. As a result of the leak test, no adhesion failure caused by the sticking of the hollow fibers was found.

  Moreover, since the hollow fiber membrane bundle was crimped like the blood purifier of Example 1, the drift of the dialysate was suppressed and the performance of urea clearance was excellent. Moreover, the performance variation between blood purifiers was small.

  Moreover, the amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone eluted from the blood purifier was low, the water permeability was excellent during priming, and the blood purifier was highly practical.

  Tables 1 to 3 show the evaluation results of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membranes and blood purifiers obtained in the above Examples.

(Comparative Example 7)
Using the blood purifier obtained in Comparative Example 1, the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle filled in the blood purifier was adjusted in the same manner as in Example 3. The sterilization treatment was performed in the same manner as in Example 3 by changing the seal plug to be stopped. The results are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 5. The blood purifier obtained in this comparative example is not hermetically sealed in addition to the problems of the blood purifier obtained in comparative example 1, so that air enters the blood purifier and the hollow fiber is irradiated during γ-ray irradiation. Since the circumference of the membrane bundle is filled with air and oxygen gas is dissolved in the water in the hollow fiber membrane, the effect of suppressing the degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone due to the γ-ray irradiation by the moisture in the hollow fiber membrane is reduced. The amount of elution of hydrogen peroxide was increased by irradiation. Therefore, long-term storage stability of the blood purifier deteriorated.

(Comparative Example 8)
Using the blood purifier obtained in Comparative Example 1, the moisture content of the hollow fiber membrane bundle filled in the blood purifier was adjusted in the same manner as in Example 3. At this time, the water to be filled in the assembled blood purifier was changed to use RO water having a dissolved oxygen amount of 8 ppm without degassing, and the storage time until sterilization was set to 40 hours. Sterilization was performed in the same manner. The results are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 5. In addition to the problem of the blood purifier obtained in Comparative Example 2, the blood purifier obtained in this comparative example is not subjected to deoxygenation of water present in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane. As a result, the hollow fiber membrane deteriorated and the amount of hydrogen peroxide eluted increased. For this reason, the storage stability of the blood purifier was poor.

(Comparative Example 9)
In the method of Comparative Example 7, excluding degassed water filled in the assembled blood purifier and changing the moisture content in the hollow fiber membrane to dry air, except that the storage time until sterilization was 216 hours, As in Comparative Example 6, the blood purifier was assembled and sterilized. The oxygen concentration in the blood purifier was 21% by volume. The results are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 5. The blood purifier obtained in this comparative example was worse in quality than the blood purifier obtained in comparative example 7.

(Comparative Example 10)
Using the blood purifier obtained in Comparative Example 1, without adjusting the moisture content of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane, the moisture content remained in a state of 2.4% by mass (that is, filling with deaerated water and A blood purifier was obtained by performing sterilization in the same manner as in Example 3 except that the γ-ray irradiation was changed in a state where no eviction operation was performed. The results are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 5. Polyvinylpyrrolidone in the selectively permeable hollow fiber membranes loaded in the blood purifier obtained in this comparative example has a low water content in the hollow fiber membranes, so that the crosslinking of polyvinylpyrrolidone did not proceed. Therefore, the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone eluted was large and the quality was low. Moreover, since the moisture content in the hollow fiber membrane was low, the degradation reaction of polyvinylpyrrolidone was increased by γ-ray irradiation, and the hydrogen peroxide elution amount was increased. Therefore, the storage stability of the blood purifier was not good.

Example 4
In the same manner as in Example 2, 17% by mass of polysulfone (Amoco P-1700), 5% by mass of polyvinylpyrrolidone (BASF Kollidon (registered trademark) K-60), 73% by mass of dimethylacetamide (DMAc), A film forming solution consisting of 5% by mass of water was prepared. As the polyvinyl pyrrolidone, one having a hydrogen peroxide content of 120 ppm was used. The obtained film-forming solution was passed through a two-stage filter of 15 μm and 15 μm, and simultaneously with a 35 mass% DMAc aqueous solution at 60 ° C. degassed as a hollow forming agent from a tube-in orifice nozzle heated to 40 ° C. After discharging and passing through a 600 mm air gap portion cut off from the outside air by a spinning tube, it was solidified in 50 ° C. water. The nozzle slit width of the tube-in-orifice nozzle used was an average of 60 μm, the maximum 61 μm, the minimum 59 μm, the ratio of the maximum and minimum slit widths was 1.03, and the draft ratio was 1.01. The hollow fiber membrane bundle pulled up from the coagulation bath was passed through a water washing tank at 85 ° C. for 45 seconds to remove the solvent and excess polyvinylpyrrolidone, and then crimped in the same manner as in Example 1 and rolled up in a wet state. . About 10,000 bundles of the hollow fiber membranes were immersed in pure water, washed in an autoclave at 121 ° C. for 1 hour, and dried in the same manner as in Example 1. The water content was 3.8% by mass.

  The highest temperature reached of the hollow fiber membrane bundle during the drying process was 56 ° C. The roller for changing the yarn path during the spinning process was a mirror-finished surface, and the fixing guide was a satin-finished surface. The resulting selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle had an inner diameter of 200.2 μm and a film thickness of 45.3 μm. As is clear from Tables 1 and 2, the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide was stable at a low level in all parts, and the storage stability of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane was excellent.

  A blood purifier was assembled in the same manner as in Example 1 using the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle thus obtained. Nitrogen was bubbled through deoxygenated water having a dissolved oxygen concentration of 0.05 ppm by passing RO water through a hollow fiber membrane type deaerator to prepare nitrogen-saturated water. After filling the blood side of the blood purifier with 200 ml / min for 5 minutes with this nitrogen-saturated water, the blood side was stopped, the filling water was expelled with 60 ° C. air at a pressure of 0.1 MPa, and the ventilation was continued. Thus, the water content in the hollow fiber membrane was adjusted to 10% by mass. The blood and dialysate inlet / outlet of the blood purifier dried under the above conditions are sealed with a cap made of ethylene-propylene synthetic rubber, a biaxially stretched polyamide film having an outer layer thickness of 25 μm and an unstretched polyethylene having an inner layer thickness of 50 μm. It sealed in the packaging bag which consists of a laminated body of a film. 50 hours after sealing, it was changed to γ-rays and sterilized by irradiation with an electron beam using an electron beam irradiation machine having an acceleration voltage of 5000 KV.

  As a result of conducting a leak test of the obtained blood purifier, no adhesion failure caused by the sticking of the hollow fiber membranes was observed. When the hollow fiber membrane bundle was cut out from the sterilized blood purifier and subjected to the eluate test, the polyvinylpyrrolidone elution amount was 5 ppm and the maximum hydrogen peroxide elution amount was 3 ppm, which was a satisfactory level. Further, when the hollow fiber membrane bundle was taken out from the blood purifier and the outer surface was observed with a microscope, defects such as scratches were not observed. In addition, citrated fresh cow blood was flowed to the blood purifier at a blood flow rate of 200 mL / min and a filtration rate of 10 mL / min, but no blood cell leak was observed. Endotoxin filtered from the outer side of the hollow fiber to the inner side of the hollow fiber was below the detection limit and was at a level with no problem. In addition, the storage stability of the blood purifier obtained in this example is good, and UV is the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard for the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle in the blood purifier after storage for one year. The maximum value of (220-350 nm) absorbance was 0.06, and the reference value of 0.10 or less was maintained. Moreover, since the hollow fiber membrane bundle was crimped similarly to the blood purifier of Example 1, the drift of the dialysate was suppressed, and the urea clearance performance was excellent. Moreover, the performance variation between blood purifiers was small.

  Moreover, the amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone eluted from the blood purifier was low, the water permeability was excellent during priming, and the blood purifier was highly practical. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 1-3.

  Conventionally, there is no known quality control method focusing on the behavior of hydrogen peroxide in hollow fiber membrane bundles. The quality of the hollow fiber membrane bundle can be examined from many points of view. For example, the hollow fiber membrane bundle is cut into 27 cm in the longitudinal direction and is divided into 10 equal intervals of 2.7 cm. Measure the elution amount of hydrogen peroxide at each site. The difference A is obtained based on the maximum and minimum elution amounts. And an average elution amount is calculated by averaging it. Further, the maximum value B of the difference between the maximum elution amount or the minimum elution amount and the average elution amount is set as the degree of quality variation. FIG. 8 shows a variation state of the first embodiment. In the case of Comparative Example 2, it can be obtained similarly. The values calculated in this way are summarized in Table 4.

  When the hydrogen peroxide elution amount is particularly about 5 ppm as a boundary, the relationship of the degree of variation in the quality of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is examined as shown in FIG. When the hydrogen peroxide elution amount increases, an unbalance occurs in the hydrogen peroxide elution amount of each part in 10 equal parts of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, so that the difference in the elution amount of each part increases. In that case, the difference in elution of hydrogen peroxide with the same material is unfavorable in terms of quality control because it affects the performance and function of the hollow fiber membrane. It can be understood that the fact that there is no unbalance in each part of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is also excellent in the quality of the hollow fiber membrane. It can be understood that the range of about 5 ppm is a critical range in terms of suppressing variation.

  FIG. 10 shows blood filled with a hollow fiber membrane bundle in which the elution amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone eluted from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is suppressed to 10 ppm or less and the hydrogen peroxide elution amount from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is suppressed to 5 ppm or less. The behavior of UV absorbance when the purifier is stored for one year is shown. Those whose hydrogen peroxide elution amount is suppressed to 5 ppm or less can suppress the UV absorbance to 0.1 or less even after long-term storage, so the hydrogen peroxide elution amount from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is 5 ppm or less. It can be said that the suppression significantly contributes to the stability of the quality of the blood purifier.

The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention has a reduced hydrogen peroxide elution amount, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone when the hollow fiber membrane bundle caused by the hydrogen peroxide is stored for a long period of time. Since deterioration is suppressed, UV (220-350 nm) absorbance, which is a dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard, can be maintained at 0.10 or less even after long-term storage. In addition, since the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle of the present invention is crimped, the performance of the blood purifier can be maximized. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is suitable for a hemodialysis method hollow fiber blood purifier having high water permeability used for the treatment of chronic renal failure.
In addition, since the blood purifier of the present invention is a dry type, there are advantages such as being light, not freezing, and being difficult for bacteria to propagate. In addition, since the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle packed in the blood purifier of the present invention does not contain a radical scavenger, the radical scavenger is washed beforehand when used for blood purification. There is an advantage that an operation to remove is unnecessary. Furthermore, in the present invention, even in the dry state and in the absence of a radical scavenger, even if irradiated with radiation, the effect of the conventional technique that the deterioration of the selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane due to irradiation is suppressed is not achieved. Therefore, the production of hydrogen peroxide due to the deterioration reaction is small, and the blood purifier of the present invention has the advantages of excellent antithrombogenicity and excellent long-term storage stability. Therefore, it is important to contribute to the industry.

It is an apparatus block diagram which shows an example of the crimp provision apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the crimp provision apparatus of this invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows how to obtain | require the yield point in the case of not having a local maximum point. It is a figure which shows how to obtain | require a yield point in the case of having a local maximum point. It is a schematic diagram of the wavelength and amplitude of the crimp in the present invention. It is sectional drawing of a blood purifier. It is a schematic diagram which shows the hydrogen peroxide elution amount of each site | part when a hollow fiber membrane is divided into 10 equal parts. It is a schematic diagram which shows the variation degree of the quality in a hollow fiber membrane bundle. It is a schematic diagram which shows the change of UV light absorbency during the preservation | save period of a blood purifier.

Explanation of symbols

1: Thread 2: Toothed timing belt 3: Heating box 4: Hot air inlet 5: Hot air outlet 6: Free roller 7: Timing pulley 9: Blood purifier 10: Housing 11: Hollow fiber membrane bundle 12: Adhesive resin 13: Cap 14a: Dialysate inlet 14b: Dialysate outlet 15a: Blood inlet 15b: Blood outlet

Claims (5)

A polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle containing polyvinylpyrrolidone, which simultaneously satisfies the following characteristics:
(1) The elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone from the hollow fiber membrane bundle is 10 ppm or less.
(2) When the hollow fiber membrane bundle is divided into 10 pieces in the longitudinal direction and the test defined by the dialysis-type artificial kidney device manufacturing approval standard is performed for each part, the hydrogen peroxide elution amount of the obtained extract Is 5 ppm or less at all sites.
(3) The film thickness of the hollow fiber membrane is 10 to 60 μm, and the yield elongation of the single yarn is 5.0% or less.
(4) A crimp having a wavelength of 10 mm or more and an amplitude of 0.2 mm or more is applied to the hollow fiber membrane.   The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane is run as a single yarn until the spinning, coagulation and water washing steps, and then 2 to 50 single yarns are combined and continuously supplied to the crimping step. The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle according to claim 1, wherein   A plurality of hollow fiber membrane rows to which polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membranes are continuously supplied are crimped by meandering between yarn guides that travel at regular intervals. The polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle according to claim 1 or 2.   UV (220 to 350 nm) in the extract of the hollow fiber membrane when the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle is stored at room temperature for 3 months or more and then subjected to the test defined by the dialysis artificial kidney device manufacturing approval criteria Absorbance is 0.10 or less, The polysulfone type permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   A blood purifier filled with the polysulfone-based permselective hollow fiber membrane bundle according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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