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

这项小型企业技术转让（STTR）一期项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力涉及终末期肾病的治疗，终末期肾病是美国的一个重大健康负担。趋势是患者管理的家庭治疗。本提案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治疗。尽管更频繁的血液透析治疗在经济、健康和生活质量上有公认的好处，但使用现有系统的家庭血液透析的采用受到医生的限制。和病人吗?安全问题。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。一种由硅纳米膜支持的小型高效透析系统的开发，有可能增加家庭透析的采用，并为美国43万受终末期肾病影响的个体带来相关益处。拟议的项目涉及硅纳米膜的规模，它提供非凡和无与伦比的渗透性，使小规模血液透析成为可能。本项目重点研究膜提膜工艺的优化。能够从硅片支架上释放大面积硅纳米膜的方法，从而同时增加活性膜面积并降低生产成本。将为这些膜开发流体外壳，适合大型动物（猪/羊）和人体的血容量。将在原型系统中进行台式验证以测量毒素清除和超滤。

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.