Deposition of blood cells on collagen and cuprophane membranes.

Dogs were dialyzed with collagen and cuprophane membranes, human renal failure patients were dialyzed with cuprophane membranes, and samples of the membranes were observed by scanning electron microscopy at different time periods. Fixation was done in glutaraldehyde and cacodylate buffer, and samples were dried at the critical point. All cellular elements were well preserved and appeared viable. Cuprophane adsorbed platelets almost selectively in dog dialyses, whereas collagen adsorbed a smaller number and more heterogeneous group of cells. In contrast to these findings, when cuprophane was used in clinical dialyses, the cell population was predominantly polymorphonuclear leukocytes.