SMART NANOFIBERS TO TREAT KIDNEY FAILURE
A simple way to treat
kidney failure. A new technique for purifying blood using a nanofiber mesh
could prove useful as a cheap, wearable alternative to kidney dialysis.
The newly-fabricated
nanofiber mesh for the removal of toxins from the blood, made by WPI-MANA researchers,
may be incorporated into wearable blood purification systems for kidney failure
patients.
Kidney failure
results in a build up of toxins and excess waste in the body. Dialysis is the
most common treatment, performed daily either at home or in hospital. However,
dialysis machines require electricity and careful maintenance, and are
therefore more readily available in developed countries than poorer nations.
Around one million people die each year worldwide from potentially preventable
end-stage renal disease.
In addition to this,
in the aftermath of disasters such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of
2011, dialysis patients are frequently left without treatment until normal
hospital services are resumed. With this in mind, Mitsuhiro Ebara and co-workers
at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National
Institute for Materials Science in Ibaraki, Japan, have developed a way of
removing toxins and waste from blood using a cheap, easy-to-produce nanofiber
mesh.
The mesh could be
incorporated into a blood purification product small enough to be worn on a
patient's arm, reducing the need for expensive, time-consuming dialysis.
The team made their
nanofiber mesh using two components: a blood-compatible primary matrix polymer
made from polyethylene-co-vinyl alchohol, or EVOH, and several different forms
of zeolites -- naturally occurring aluminosilicates. Zeolites have microporous
structures capable of adsorbing toxins such as creatinine from blood.
The researchers
generated the mesh using a versatile and cost-effective process called
electrospinning -- using an electrical charge to draw fibers from a liquid.
Ebara and his team found that the silicon-aluminum ratio within the zeolites is
critical to creatinine adsorption. Beta type 940-HOA zeolite had the highest
capacity for toxin adsorption, and shows potential for a final blood
purification product.
Although the new
design is still in its early stages and not yet ready for production, Ebara and
his team are confident that a product based on their nanofiber mesh will soon
be a feasible, compact and cheap alternative to dialysis for kidney failure patients
across the world.
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