Scanning electron microscopy images of double layer mixed matrix membranes. (Credit: Scientific Reports ISSN 2045-2322 online)

Scientists have developed a new generation of membranes that outperform current dialysis techniques and may ultimately lead to a wearable artificial kidney. The new mixed matrix membranes (MMM) combine the advantages of hemodialysis (filtration by means of diffusion) and hemoperfusion (adsorption). Activated carbon particles in the adsorption are distributed throughout the membrane, which bind waste and help to remove it. The new membranes, which are smaller in diameter than the first generation developed in 2013, have no albumin leakage, thereby meeting the characteristics of low-flux dialyzers used in clinics.

Current dialysis techniques approach only 10–15 percent of the purifying effect of a healthy kidney, filtering only small blood-dissolved waste from the blood. The larger and protein-bound toxins are not removed and accumulate in the body. In contrast, the combined MMM technology shows significantly better results than these existing dialysis methods. The membranes remove two to three times more protein-bound waste and provide good retention of moisture.

The results are based on tests with human plasma. The researchers plan to test the membranes with blood in vitro and then in vivo in animals.

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