Keywords Highlights Abstract Graphical abstract 438 Research Paper Received 2020-06-07 Revised 2020-08-02 Accepted 2020-08-23 Available online 2020-08-23 Hemodialysis membrane Polyethersulfone (PES) Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) Polyethylene glycol (PEG) • The simultaneous efect of PVP and PEG in the PES membrane • Demonstrating better compatibility of PVP/PES rather than PEG/PES • AFM study to evaluate mean pore size and surface roughness • Maximum permeability of urea and maximum rejection of BSA for developed membranes • Evaluation of blood compatibility with LDH method Journal of Membrane Science and Research 6 (2020) 438-448 High-Performance Hemodialysis Membrane: Infuence of Polyethylene Glycol and Polyvinylpyrrolidone in the Polyethersulfone Membrane Department of Biomaterials, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (IPPI), P.O. Box: 14965/115, Tehran, Iran Somayeh Hasheminasab, Jalal Barzin * , Rahim Dehghan Article info © 2020 MPRL. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author: j.barzin@ippi.ac.ir (J. Barzin) DOI: 10.22079/JMSR.2020.128323.1391 1. Introduction Hemodialysis recognized as one of the most common methods for the treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). National hemodialysis institute classifed dialyzers into two categories: low fux and high fux dialyzers. Membranes using in the hemodialysis process are the main part of the dialyzer [1,2]. Membrane characteristics are strongly undergoing its performance. In the hemodialysis membrane, further separation of toxin materials, maintaining benefcial blood components like albumin is a vital issue. Therefore, a high-performance hemodialysis membrane should have the maximum separation of uremic toxins without removing benefcial blood substances. Many factors afecting membrane Journal of Membrane Science & Research journal homepage: www.msrjournal.com To the preparation of high-performance hemodialysis membrane, the efect of polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and also the simultaneous efect of both additives in the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane were investigated. Viscosity measurements demonstrated that PVP has better compatibility with PES, owing to the amorphous nature, closer glassy transition temperature (T g ), and solubility parameters rather than PEG (semi-crystalline and low T g ). This could lead to enhancement in the solution viscosity. SEM results revealed that membranes morphology was dependent upon casting solution viscosity and with increasing viscosity; the formation of macro-voids suppressed and achieving to a membrane with a smaller mean pore size would be possible. The results of the AFM study demonstrated that, with the addition of PVP, membranes with smooth surface were achieved. In contrast, the PEG addition led to a rougher membrane surface. The results verifed that PEG had a tangible efect on the permeability of membrane rather than PVP or blend of PVP and PEG, which is owing to its impressive pore-forming role. The maximum pure water permeability (PWP) was achieved for MV4 (24.9 L/m 2 .h.bar), MG2 (44.8 L/m 2 .h.bar), MVG2 (25.2 L/m 2 .h.bar), and MVG3 (25.1 L/m 2 .h.bar). Rejection test showed that MV3, MV4, MG3, MG4, MVG2, and MVG3 had the best performance in terms of urea removal and maintaining other components, especially bovine serum albumin (BSA). In-vitro cytotoxicity demonstrated the biocompatibility of MV2, MG3, and MVG3 as representative of all membranes. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) test confrmed that PVP has a tangible efect on the reduction of platelet adhesion on the membrane surface.