Assessment of dialysis membranes

The paper considers the aspects that play a role in the technological assessment of dialysis membranes: transport mechanisms (diffusion, convection and adsorption) and biocompatibility. An attempt is made to clarify how they relate to the performance of a dialysis session and which are the best parameters to compare the efficiency of different membranes. The study does not offer definitive solutions to such a delicate and complicated matter but suggests some points for discussion. In conclusion, the performance of a membrane is a very difficult process to evaluate and different membranes can be compared only by establishing adequate points of comparison. At the same time, the points of comparison themselves may change depending to the type of comorbidities of the specific patient considered for membrane selection.