STTR Phase I: Development of Ultrathin Nanomembranes for Home-based Hemodialysis

这一小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力与终末期肾病的治疗有关，终末期肾病在美国是一种重大的健康负担。趋势正在向患者管理、家庭治疗的方向发展。这项提议的目标是通过开发原型透析系统来加速采用更安全的家庭血液透析疗法。尽管更频繁的血液透析治疗具有公认的经济、健康和生活质量的好处，但使用现有系统的家庭血液透析的采用正受到医生的限制？病人呢？安全方面的考虑。更简单、更安全的血液透析疗法将需要在设备组件和外形因素方面取得突破。由硅纳米膜实现的小规模、高效透析系统的开发有可能使美国43万名终末期肾病患者更多地采用家庭透析及其相关好处。拟议的项目涉及扩大硅纳米膜的规模，它具有非凡和无与伦比的渗透性，使小规模血液透析成为可能。该项目的重点是优化膜剥离方法，使大面积的纳米硅薄膜从生产它们的硅片支架上释放出来，从而同时增加活性膜面积并降低生产成本。将为这些膜开发适用于大型动物(猪/羊)和人体鳞片的血液容量的流体外壳。将进行台式验证，以测量原型系统中的毒素清除和超滤。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project relates to the treatment of end-stage renal disease, a significant health burden in the US. Trends are moving toward patient-managed, in-home treatments. The goal of this proposal is to accelerate adoption of safer home hemodialysis therapy through development of prototype dialysis systems. Despite the recognized economic, health and quality-of-life benefits of more frequent hemodialysis treatments, adoption of home hemodialysis using present systems is being limited by doctors? and patients? safety concerns. Simpler and safer hemodialysis therapies will require breakthroughs in both device components and form-factors. The development of a small-scale, highly efficient dialysis system enabled by silicon nanomembranes holds potential for increasing adoption of home dialysis and its related benefits for the 430,000 individuals affected by end-stage renal disease in the US.The proposed project concerns the scale up of silicon nanomembranes, which offer extraordinary and unparalleled permeability, enabling small-scale hemodialysis. This project focuses on the optimization of membrane ?liftoff?methods which enable the release of large areas of silicon nanomembranes from silicon wafer supports on which they are produced, thereby simultaneously increasing active membrane area and reducing production cost. Fluidic housings will be developed for these membranes appropriate for blood volumes for large animal (Pig/sheep) and human scales. Bench-top validation will be conducted to measure toxin clearance and ultrafiltration in the prototype system.