Insight into the transport mechanism of solute removed in dialysis by a membrane with double functionality

The present study aims at shedding light on the transport mechanisms involved in a functionalized membrane designed for improving hemodialysis. This membrane is prepared by embedding absorptive micro particles within its porous structure. To understand the transport mechanism through the membrane and make suggestions for its optimization, a mathematical model coupling convection, diffusion and adsorption is developed and validated by comparison of experimental and theoretical results. In fact, the model provides a description of the concentration profile from the donor (feed) compartment across the several layers with different properties to the acceptor (dialysate) compartment. In addition, the model allows to predict the influence of various parameters such as molecule diffusivity, membrane thickness, presence of convection, content of adsorptive particles on the flux intensification across the membrane. Comparison with experimental measurements demonstrates that the model is able to describe the transmembrane mass flux variation over time as a function of hydrodynamic conditions and membrane/module geometric parameters. The model also illustrates how the proposed double-layer membrane concept offers significant benefits in terms of toxin removal in comparison to conventional dialysis. As so, the main achievement of the developed model is that it may serve as tool for the further improvement of functionalized membrane in terms of toxin removal and optimization of process condition

Functional polymer scaffolds for blood vessel tissue engineering

Scaffold pore size plays a critical role in the infiltration of the cells into the structure. For engineered blood vessels, co-cultures of endothelial (EC) on the lumen, and smooth muscle cells (SMC) on the external surface of tubular scaffolds are performed. The more adequate pore sizes for EC are, in general, smaller than for SMC. In the present work, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) flat film and hollow fibers are prepared by phase inversion. The influence of polymer and coagulation solution compositions on pore morphology of the films is analysed and the results are applied to obtain, in a one step process, PCL hollow fibers with suitable pore size for both EC and SMC

Impregnated membranes for direct methanol fuel cells at high methanol concentrations

Sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether ketone) (SPPEK) impregnated Solupor® microporous film (SPPEK–PE) and pure SPPEK membranes with two different ion-exchange capacities (IECs) were prepared and characterized for use in DMFC applications. Swelling, proton conductivity, diffusion and DMFC experiments were performed at various methanol concentrations to understand the effect of impregnation of an ion-conductive polymer membrane to the fuel cell performance.\ud \ud Impregnating SPPEK into PE decreases swelling degree and methanol permeability of the membranes, but at the same time the proton conductivity. Unlike perfluorinated membranes, SPPEK–PE shows an increase in its DMFC performance at high methanol concentration and that makes it more attractive for mobile DMFC applications where high methanol concentrations are needed to compete with Li-ion batteries

Organs-on-Chips in Drug Development: The Importance of Involving Stakeholders in Early Health Technology Assessment

Organs-on-chips are three-dimensional, microfluidic cell culture systems that simulate the function of tissues and organ subunits. Organ-on-chip systems are expected to contribute to drug candidate screening and the reduction of animal tests in preclinical drug development and may increase efficiency of these processes. To maximize the future impact of the technology on drug development, it is important to make informed decisions regarding the attributes and features of organs-on-chips even though the technology is still in a stage of early development. It is likely that different stakeholders in organ-on-chip development, such as engineers, biologists, regulatory scientists, and pharmaceutical researchers, will have different perspectives on how to maximize the future impact of the technology. Various aspects of organ-on-chip development, such as cost, materials, features, cell source, read-out technology, types of data, and compatibility with existing technology, will likely be judged differently by different stakeholders. Early health technology assessment (HTA) is needed in order to facilitate the essential integration of such potentially conflicting views in the process of technology development. In this critical review we discuss the potential impact of organs-on-chips on the drug development process, and we use a pilot study to give examples of how different stakeholders have different perspectives on attributes of organ-on-chip technology. As a future tool in early HTA of organs-on-chips, we suggest the use of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), which is a formal method to deal with multiple and conflicting criteria in technology development. We argue that it is essential to design and perform a comprehensive MCDA for organ-on-chip development, and so the future impact of this technology in the pharmaceutical industry can be maximized

Controlled drug delivery through tailor-made blend polymeric membranes

In this work, we prepare tailor-made membranes by blending sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (S-PEEK) and poly(ether sulfone) (PES) polymers, at various ratios. Timolol (TM) is used as a model drug for the investigation of the controlled delivery through these membranes and their application to a transdermal TM patch is discusse

The matching conditions of controlled Lagrangians and IDA-passivity based control

This paper discusses the matching conditions resulting from the controlled Lagrangians method and the interconnection and damping assignment passivity based control (IDA-PBC) method. Both methods have been presented recently in the literature as means to stabilize a desired equilibrium point of an Euler±Lagrange, respectively Hamiltonian, system. In the context of mechanical systems with symmetry, the original controlled Lagrangians method is reviewed, and an interpretation of the matching assumptions in terms of the matching of kinetic and potential energy is given. Secondly, both methods are applied to the general class of underactuated mechanical systems and it is shown that the controlled Lagrangians method is contained in the IDA-PBC method. The $\lambda$-method as described in recent papers for the controlled Lagrangians method, transforming the matching conditions (a set of non-linear PDEs) into a set of linear PDEs, is discussed. The method is used to transform the matching conditions obtained in the IDA-PBC method into a set of quadratic and linear PDEs. Finally, the extra freedom obtained in the IDA-PBC method (with respect to the controlled Lagrangians method) is used to discuss the integrability of the closed-loop system. Explicit conditions are derived under which the closed-loop Hamiltonian system is integrable, leading to the introduction of gyroscopic terms