Hollow fiber membranes (
HFMs) are a class of
artificial membranes containing a
semi-permeable barrier in the form of a hollow fiber. Originally developed in the 1960s for
reverse osmosis applications, hollow fiber membranes have since become prevalent in water treatment, desalination, cell culture, medicine, and tissue engineering. Most commercial hollow fiber membranes are packed into cartridges which can be used for a variety of liquid and gaseous separations.