Dialysis tubing

Dialysis tubing is also frequently used as a teaching aid to demonstrate the principles of diffusion, osmosis, Brownian motion and the movement of molecules across a restrictive membrane.

[2][3][4] The term dialysis was first routinely used for scientific or medical purposes in the late 1800s and early 1900s, pioneered by the work of Thomas Graham.

The first mass-produced man-made membranes suitable for dialysis were not available until the 1930s, based on materials used in the food packaging industry such as cellophane.

The MWCO typically refers to the smallest average molecular mass of a standard molecule that will not effectively diffuse across the membrane upon extended dialysis.

However; dialysis membranes made of polysulfone, polyethersulfone (PES), etched polycarbonate, or collagen are also extensively used for specific medical, food, or water treatment applications.

Regenerated cellulose membranes are more resistant to organic solvents and to the weak or dilute acids and bases that are commonly used in protein and molecular biology applications.