The publications of the members of Eng4Life.
2026
Caccavo, Diego; De Vries, Joost C.; De Stefano, Serena; Lentferink, Babette H.; Vollenbroek, Jeroen C.; Driest, Piet; Lamberti, Gaetano; Van Nostrum, Cornelus F.; Gerritsen, Karin G. F.
Toward a closed loop dialysis with urea adsorption by PhenylGlyoxAldehyde (PGA): Experiments and modeling Journal Article
In: Chemical Engineering Research and Design, vol. 229, pp. 203-210, 2026.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Artificial kidney, Mathematical modeling, PhenylGlyoxAldehyde, Urea adsorption
@article{Caccavo2026c,
title = {Toward a closed loop dialysis with urea adsorption by PhenylGlyoxAldehyde (PGA): Experiments and modeling},
author = {Diego Caccavo and De Vries, Joost C. and De Stefano, Serena and Lentferink, Babette H. and Vollenbroek, Jeroen C. and Piet Driest and Gaetano Lamberti and Van Nostrum, Cornelus F. and Gerritsen, Karin G.F. },
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263876226002182/pdfft?md5=241ae5c3972df198afc05141a031244f&pid=1-s2.0-S0263876226002182-main.pdf},
doi = {10.1016/j.cherd.2026.04.003},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-05-01},
urldate = {2026-05-01},
journal = {Chemical Engineering Research and Design},
volume = {229},
pages = {203-210},
abstract = {This study investigated the use of PhenylGlyoxAldehyde (PGA)-functionalized polymer beads as urea sorbents for closed-loop hemodialysis. The impact of initial urea concentration and volumetric flow rate was assessed through dynamic in vitro experiments using packed columns (8 g PGA beads; 12–40 mL/min; 15–30 mM urea). The adsorption kinetics were modeled using a pseudo-second-order equation combined with a Langmuir isotherm (binding capacity up to 1.85 mmol/g at 37 °C). Within the low-Reynolds-number regime explored, the pseudo-kinetic constant increased linearly with average section velocity (3.86–5.51 × 10−6 L mol⁻¹·s⁻¹ for 2.4–8 cm/min), in line with the expected increased mass transport. The model accurately predicted urea adsorption in single and dual-column (series and parallel) configurations, and it was extended to simulate in vivo closed-loop dialysis. To remove ∼330 mmol of urea — equivalent to daily production — in a 2.5 h session, a total of 1 kg of dry PGA (3.5 kg of wet PGA) would be required, making the system suitable for portable hemodialysis. When dialysis is extended to 8 h (e.g., nocturnal home therapy), the sorbent requirement reduces to 0.6 kg of dry PGA (2.1 kg of wet PGA). While not wearable, this configuration may enable the development of compact bedside dialysis systems. The validated model offers a predictive framework for optimizing system design and scaling to other sorbates and clinical scenarios.},
keywords = {Artificial kidney, Mathematical modeling, PhenylGlyoxAldehyde, Urea adsorption},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This study investigated the use of PhenylGlyoxAldehyde (PGA)-functionalized polymer beads as urea sorbents for closed-loop hemodialysis. The impact of initial urea concentration and volumetric flow rate was assessed through dynamic in vitro experiments using packed columns (8 g PGA beads; 12–40 mL/min; 15–30 mM urea). The adsorption kinetics were modeled using a pseudo-second-order equation combined with a Langmuir isotherm (binding capacity up to 1.85 mmol/g at 37 °C). Within the low-Reynolds-number regime explored, the pseudo-kinetic constant increased linearly with average section velocity (3.86–5.51 × 10−6 L mol⁻¹·s⁻¹ for 2.4–8 cm/min), in line with the expected increased mass transport. The model accurately predicted urea adsorption in single and dual-column (series and parallel) configurations, and it was extended to simulate in vivo closed-loop dialysis. To remove ∼330 mmol of urea — equivalent to daily production — in a 2.5 h session, a total of 1 kg of dry PGA (3.5 kg of wet PGA) would be required, making the system suitable for portable hemodialysis. When dialysis is extended to 8 h (e.g., nocturnal home therapy), the sorbent requirement reduces to 0.6 kg of dry PGA (2.1 kg of wet PGA). While not wearable, this configuration may enable the development of compact bedside dialysis systems. The validated model offers a predictive framework for optimizing system design and scaling to other sorbates and clinical scenarios.