Nanofiber Mesh Filters Blood of Toxins, May Allow for Tiny Hemodialysis Machines
The basics of this device are… Blood flows through a filter made of zeolite containing nanofibers. While the blood flows transversely through the mesh, creatinine can diffuse through the mesh where zeolites stand by to grab them via size selecting capture.
Their experiments were done with 190 µM creatinine solution. MW of creatinine is 113.1179 g/mol, 21.49 mg/L. Biologic levels are 6 to 12 mg/L. So they are starting with elevated levels, but as they didn’t report filtration times, this may not matter.
The human body produces 20-25 mg/kg per day. 2000 mg/day for a 176 lb person. MW of creatinine is 113.1179 g/mol. so 17.68 mmol/day. They cleared 220 µmol/g (of zeolite). That is 80.4 g/day of zeolite to clear a 176 lbs person.
They claim that 17 g of zeolite require 10 cm2 of mesh. So this 176 lbs person needs 47.27 cm2 filter area. The filters shown in the image below are 10 mm2 so 472 of those would do it. They do admit that they require a good deal of surface area for a wearable device. Also, this is just the creatinine. Nothing else is cleared from the blood.
Disclaimer: I went through these calculations rather quickly and haven’t had a change to double check my numbers.