Application of Ultrafiltration Membrane Separation Technology in Traditional Chinese Medicine Production

Ultrafiltration is a new membrane separation technology that emerged in the 1960s. Because the ultrafiltration process is a simple physical separation, there is no corresponding change in the operation process, no chemical is added; secondly, the operation of the ultrafiltration equipment It is relatively simple, and the filter membrane can be used repeatedly and repeatedly, so its application in the Chinese medicine industry has its unique role and great development potential. Developed countries such as Japan have used ultrafiltration technology in the processing of traditional Chinese medicine, replacing the traditional separation and preparation process. In order to achieve the purpose of reducing production costs and improving the quality of medicines. The principle and application of ultrafiltration technology are described below.  

1. Principles and characteristics of membrane separation technology
The basic principle of ultrafiltration   The principle of separation of ultrafiltration is similar to mechanical sieves. When the solution system enters the ultrafilter via a water pump, the surface of the ultrafiltration membrane in the filter separates, and the solvent (water) and other small molecular weight solutes pass through the filter membrane with asymmetric microporous structure, macromolecular solutes and particles (such as Proteins, viruses, bacteria, colloids, etc. are retained by the filter membrane to achieve the purpose of separating, purifying and concentrating the product.
Structural features of ultrafiltration membrane   The micropores on the ultrafiltration membrane have an asymmetric structure. There is a very thin dense layer on the working surface of the filter. The pore size of the micropores on this layer is as small as 20 - 150A , and the underlying support layer is loose, and the void is larger than 150 A. Ultrafiltration membranes generally have two typical membrane structures. These membrane structures allow the molecules of the macromolecular solute to flow through the membrane surface as the solution tangentially flows through the liquid during the separation process. The pores cause internal clogging of the membrane and do not stay on the membrane to form a clogging of the surface. The small molecular substance and solvent, after being driven by pressure through the micropores on the dense layer, can smoothly pass through the lower loose support layer and enter the other side of the membrane, so that the ultrafiltration membrane remains in the long-term continuous operation. The constant yield and separation effect can be used for a long time and repeatedly.
Ultrafiltration and ordinary filtration   There is a significant difference between ultrafiltration and ordinary filtration. The difference between the two is shown in Table 1 .
Table 1 Comparison of ultrafiltration and ordinary filtration

2. Application of ultrafiltration membrane separation technology in traditional Chinese medicine production
The ultrafiltration process is used to filter out the large molecular weight impurities in the traditional Chinese medicine water extract for the ineffective components of the Chinese medicine with a molecular weight of up to tens of thousands. Such as cellulose, mucus, gum, pectin, starch, tannin, protein, resin and other ingredients. They are mostly dissolved in the aqueous extract, and some are in the form of solid particles. (The aqueous extract must be subjected to pressure filtration, centrifugation or static precipitation to remove most of the group material before ultrafiltration). These substances can be filtered out by using an ultrafiltration membrane with a large molecular weight cut. Thereby achieving the purpose of removing large molecular weight ineffective components. Especially effective for removing protein and polysaccharide components. In addition, the ultrafiltration membrane can also filter out the resin components that cannot be removed by the alcohol treatment. However, due to the different composition of the aqueous extracts of various medicinal materials, it is necessary to remove the large molecular weight ineffective components by ultrafiltration, and to retain the active components with smaller molecular weight in the aqueous extracts. Test work to determine the material of the filter and the molecular weight of the cut. When the filter membrane is selected properly, the operating parameters and cleaning method of the ultrafiltration equipment are also determined by the test, the ultrafiltration method can be used instead of the alcohol precipitation method to filter out most of the macromolecular substances in the aqueous extract, and proceed to the next step. In the process, the Chinese medicine preparation is finally prepared.
Concentrate some of the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine   For thousands of molecular weight components above the molecular weight, the ultrafiltration membrane separation technology is used to concentrate and filter out the moisture and small molecular weight impurities in the liquid solution, thereby achieving the effect of saving energy and improving the purity of the medicine. When certain proteins, peptides and polysaccharides are the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, they are concentrated by ultrafiltration and are effective. In the case of ultrafiltration, it is also possible to filter out inorganic salts, monosaccharides and the like. Of course, it is necessary to remove larger molecular weight impurities and other precipitable components before the operation. Due to the concentration in the ultrafiltration. Moisture and small molecule inactive components are filtered through the filter membrane. This improves the purity of the product and is more effective than the usual thin film evaporation method.
Refined small molecular weight traditional Chinese medicine preparation   Most of the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine have a molecular weight of less than one thousand, and many have been made into injections. The ultrafiltration membrane with a smaller molecular weight cut can be used instead of the precipitation method to achieve its purification. For example, ultrafiltration membranes with a molecular weight of several thousand or ten thousand can filter components such as tannins, pigments and small molecular weight proteins; ultrafiltration injection solutions can significantly improve the clarity of the injection and remove pyrogens. Many application examples of this project.
Nanofiltration membrane filters out inorganic salts and monosaccharides   By using a nanofiltration membrane with a small molecular weight cut (cutting molecular weight of about 200 to 500 ), it is possible to filter out inorganic salts and vegetable sugars in medicines such as injections, and to achieve refining purposes.
The technical characteristics of ultrafiltration membrane separation bring a broader development space for traditional Chinese medicine preparations. However, it also has certain limitations. For example, in the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, the active ingredients of small molecules should be lossless. However, it is not entirely practical, so you should be fully prepared before using this technology. Make this emerging technology work better in the Chinese medicine industry.

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