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Hill K, Walker SN, Salminen A, Chung HL, Li X, Ezzat B, Miller JJ, DesOrmeaux JPS, Zhang J, Hayden A, Burgin T, Piraino L, May MN, Gaborski TR, Roussie JA, Taylor J, DiVincenti L, Shestopalov AA, McGrath JL, Johnson DG. Second Generation Nanoporous Silicon Nitride Membranes for High Toxin Clearance and Small Format Hemodialysis. Adv Healthc Mater 2020; 9:e1900750. [PMID: 31943849 PMCID: PMC7041421 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201900750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Conventional hemodialysis (HD) uses floor-standing instruments and bulky dialysis cartridges containing ≈2 m2 of 10 micrometer thick, tortuous-path membranes. Portable and wearable HD systems can improve outcomes for patients with end-stage renal disease by facilitating more frequent, longer dialysis at home, providing more physiological toxin clearance. Developing devices with these benefits requires highly efficient membranes to clear clinically relevant toxins in small formats. Here, the ability of ultrathin (<100 nm) silicon-nitride-based membranes to reduce the membrane area required to clear toxins by orders of magnitude is shown. Advanced fabrication methods are introduced that produce nanoporous silicon nitride membranes (NPN-O) that are two times stronger than the original nanoporous nitride materials (NPN) and feature pore sizes appropriate for middle-weight serum toxin removal. Single-pass benchtop studies with NPN-O (1.4 mm2 ) demonstrate the extraordinary clearance potential of these membranes (105 mL min-1 m-2 ), and their intrinsic hemocompatibility. Results of benchtop studies with nanomembranes, and 4 h dialysis of uremic rats, indicate that NPN-O can reduce the membrane area required for hemodialysis by two orders of magnitude, suggesting the performance and robustness needed to enable small-format hemodialysis, a milestone in the development of small-format hemodialysis systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayli Hill
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Samuel N Walker
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Alec Salminen
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Hung L Chung
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Xunzhi Li
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Bahie Ezzat
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Joshua J Miller
- SiMPore, Inc., 150 Lucius Gordon Drive, Suite 110, West Henrietta, Henrietta, NY, 14586, USA
| | - Jon-Paul S DesOrmeaux
- SiMPore, Inc., 150 Lucius Gordon Drive, Suite 110, West Henrietta, Henrietta, NY, 14586, USA
| | - Jingkai Zhang
- The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Andrew Hayden
- SiMPore, Inc., 150 Lucius Gordon Drive, Suite 110, West Henrietta, Henrietta, NY, 14586, USA
| | - Tucker Burgin
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Lindsay Piraino
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Marina N May
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Thomas R Gaborski
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - James A Roussie
- SiMPore, Inc., 150 Lucius Gordon Drive, Suite 110, West Henrietta, Henrietta, NY, 14586, USA
| | - Jeremy Taylor
- Department of Nephrology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Louis DiVincenti
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | | | - James L McGrath
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Dean G Johnson
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
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Chung HH, Mireles M, Kwarta BJ, Gaborski TR. Use of porous membranes in tissue barrier and co-culture models. LAB ON A CHIP 2018; 18:1671-1689. [PMID: 29845145 PMCID: PMC5997570 DOI: 10.1039/c7lc01248a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Porous membranes enable the partitioning of cellular microenvironments in vitro, while still allowing physical and biochemical crosstalk between cells, a feature that is often necessary for recapitulating physiological functions. This article provides an overview of the different membranes used in tissue barrier and cellular co-culture models with a focus on experimental design and control of these systems. Specifically, we discuss how the structural, mechanical, chemical, and even the optical and transport properties of different membranes bestow specific advantages and disadvantages through the context of physiological relevance. This review also explores how membrane pore properties affect perfusion and solute permeability by developing an analytical framework to guide the design and use of tissue barrier or co-culture models. Ultimately, this review offers insight into the important aspects one must consider when using porous membranes in tissue barrier and lab-on-a-chip applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry H Chung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA.
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3
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Madejski G, Lucas K, Pascut FC, Webb KF, McGrath JL. TEM Tomography of Pores with Application to Computational Nanoscale Flows in Nanoporous Silicon Nitride (NPN). MEMBRANES 2018; 8:membranes8020026. [PMID: 29865242 PMCID: PMC6027491 DOI: 10.3390/membranes8020026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Silicon nanomembrane technologies (NPN, pnc-Si, and others) have been used commercially as electron microscopy (EM) substrates, and as filters with nanometer-resolution size cut-offs. Combined with EM, these materials provide a platform for catching or suspending nanoscale-size structures for analysis. Usefully, the nanomembrane itself can be manufactured to achieve a variety of nanopore topographies. The size, shapes, and surfaces of nanopores will influence transport, fouling, sieving, and electrical behavior. Electron tomography (ET) techniques used to recreate nanoscale-sized structures would provide an excellent way to capture this variation. Therefore, we modified a sample holder to accept our standardized 5.4 mm × 5.4 mm silicon nanomembrane chips and imaged NPN nanomembranes (50–100 nm thick, 10–100 nm nanopore diameters) using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). After imaging and ET reconstruction using a series of freely available tools (ImageJ, TomoJ, SEG3D2, Meshlab), we used COMSOL Multiphysics™ to simulate fluid flow inside a reconstructed nanopore. The results show flow profiles with significantly more complexity than a simple cylindrical model would predict, with regions of stagnation inside the nanopores. We expect that such tomographic reconstructions of ultrathin nanopores will be valuable in elucidating the physics that underlie the many applications of silicon nanomembranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Madejski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
| | - Kilean Lucas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
| | - Flavius C Pascut
- Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Kevin F Webb
- Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - James L McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
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Briggs K, Madejski G, Magill M, Kastritis K, de Haan HW, McGrath JL, Tabard-Cossa V. DNA Translocations through Nanopores under Nanoscale Preconfinement. NANO LETTERS 2018; 18:660-668. [PMID: 29087723 PMCID: PMC5814347 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b03987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
To reduce unwanted variation in the passage speed of DNA through solid-state nanopores, we demonstrate nanoscale preconfinement of translocating molecules using an ultrathin nanoporous silicon nitride membrane separated from a single sensing nanopore by a nanoscale cavity. We present comprehensive experimental and simulation results demonstrating that the presence of an integrated nanofilter within nanoscale distances of the sensing pore eliminates the dependence of molecular passage time distributions on pore size, revealing a global minimum in the coefficient of variation of the passage time. These results provide experimental verification that the inter- and intramolecular passage time variation depends on the conformational entropy of each molecule prior to translocation. Furthermore, we show that the observed consistently narrower passage time distributions enables a more reliable DNA length separation independent of pore size and stability. We also demonstrate that the composite nanofilter/nanopore devices can be configured to suppress the frequency of folded translocations, ensuring single-file passage of captured DNA molecules. By greatly increasing the rate at which usable data can be collected, these unique attributes will offer significant practical advantages to many solid-state nanopore-based sensing schemes, including sequencing, genomic mapping, and barcoded target detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Briggs
- Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Gregory Madejski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Martin Magill
- Faculty of Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Hendrick W. de Haan
- Faculty of Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada
| | - James L. McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
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Chae K, Huang L. Computational Study of Pressure-Driven Gas Transport in Nanostructured Carbons: An Alternative Approach. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:12299-307. [PMID: 26309067 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b05464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We demonstrated a computationally efficient method in nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations to study pressure-driven gas transport in porous media. The reflecting particle method (RPM)14 was used to establish a steady-state gas flow along the transport channel, and the gas density in the feed chamber was properly adjusted to allow a constant pressure drop under various conditions by using a perturbation-relaxation loop developed here. This method was validated for methane flow through carbon nanotubes over a wide range of temperatures, giving results comparable to those of the commonly used dual control volume grand canonical molecular dynamics (DCV-GCMD) method but at least 20 times more efficient, even though the transport condition tested is favorable for the latter. This made it possible to perform systematic studies on the effects of temperature, pressure, and channel size on the transport behaviors. Our study shows that adsorption density varies significantly with temperature, which dramatically influences the transport mechanisms, especially in small channels at low temperatures and under high pressures. This newly developed NEMD method can be readily extended to study gas transport through channels with more complex surface morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kisung Chae
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Liping Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
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Qi C, Striemer CC, Gaborski TR, McGrath JL, Fauchet PM. Influence of silicon dioxide capping layers on pore characteristics in nanocrystalline silicon membranes. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2015; 26:055706. [PMID: 25590751 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/26/5/055706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Porous nanocrystalline silicon (pnc-Si) membranes are a new class of membrane material with promising applications in biological separations. Pores are formed in a silicon film sandwiched between nm thick silicon dioxide layers during rapid thermal annealing. Controlling pore size is critical in the size-dependent separation applications. In this work, we systematically studied the influence of the silicon dioxide capping layers on pnc-Si membranes. Even a single nm thick top oxide layer is enough to switch from agglomeration to pore formation after annealing. Both the pore size and porosity increase with the thickness of the top oxide, but quickly reach a plateau after 10 nm of oxide. The bottom oxide layer acts as a barrier layer to prevent the a-Si film from undergoing homo-epitaxial growth during annealing. Both the pore size and porosity decrease as the thickness of the bottom oxide layer increases to 100 nm. The decrease of the pore size and porosity is correlated with the increased roughness of the bottom oxide layer, which hinders nanocrystal nucleation and nanopore formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengzhu Qi
- Materials Science Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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Nehilla BJ, Nataraj N, Gaborski TR, McGrath JL. Endothelial vacuolization induced by highly permeable silicon membranes. Acta Biomater 2014; 10:4670-4677. [PMID: 25072618 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2014] [Revised: 06/14/2014] [Accepted: 07/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Assays for initiating, controlling and studying endothelial cell behavior and blood vessel formation have applications in developmental biology, cancer and tissue engineering. In vitro vasculogenesis models typically combine complex three-dimensional gels of extracellular matrix proteins with other stimuli like growth factor supplements. Biomaterials with unique micro- and nanoscale features may provide simpler substrates to study endothelial cell morphogenesis. In this work, patterns of nanoporous, nanothin silicon membranes (porous nanocrystalline silicon, or pnc-Si) are fabricated to control the permeability of an endothelial cell culture substrate. Permeability on the basal surface of primary and immortalized endothelial cells causes vacuole formation and endothelial organization into capillary-like structures. This phenomenon is repeatable, robust and controlled entirely by patterns of free-standing, highly permeable pnc-Si membranes. Pnc-Si is a new biomaterial with precisely defined micro- and nanoscale features that can be used as a unique in vitro platform to study endothelial cell behavior and vasculogenesis.
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DesOrmeaux JPS, Winans JD, Wayson SE, Gaborski TR, Khire TS, Striemer CC, McGrath JL. Nanoporous silicon nitride membranes fabricated from porous nanocrystalline silicon templates. NANOSCALE 2014; 6:10798-10805. [PMID: 25105590 DOI: 10.1039/c4nr03070b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The extraordinary permeability and manufacturability of ultrathin silicon-based membranes are enabling devices with improved performance and smaller sizes in such important areas as molecular filtration and sensing, cell culture, electroosmotic pumping, and hemodialysis. Because of the robust chemical and mechanical properties of silicon nitride (SiN), several laboratories have developed techniques for patterning nanopores in SiN using reactive ion etching (RIE) through a template structure. These methods however, have failed to produce pores small enough for ultrafiltration (<100 nm) in SiN and involve templates that are prone to microporous defects. Here we present a facile, wafer-scale method to produce nanoporous silicon nitride (NPN) membranes using porous nanocrystalline silicon (pnc-Si) as a self-assembling, defect free, RIE masking layer. By modifying the mask layer morphology and the RIE etch conditions, the pore sizes of NPN can be adjusted between 40 nm and 80 nm with porosities reaching 40%. The resulting NPN membranes exhibit higher burst pressures than pnc-Si membranes while having 5× greater permeability. NPN membranes also demonstrate the capacity for high resolution separations (<10 nm) seen previously with pnc-Si membranes. We further demonstrate that human endothelial cells can be grown on NPN membranes, verifying the biocompatibility of NPN and demonstrating the potential of this material for cell culture applications.
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Qi C, Striemer CC, Gaborski TR, McGrath JL, Fauchet PM. Highly porous silicon membranes fabricated from silicon nitride/silicon stacks. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2014; 10:2946-2953. [PMID: 24623562 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201303447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2013] [Revised: 02/25/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Nanopore formation in silicon films has previously been demonstrated using rapid thermal crystallization of ultrathin (15 nm) amorphous Si films sandwiched between nm-thick SiO2 layers. In this work, the silicon dioxide barrier layers are replaced with silicon nitride, resulting in nanoporous silicon films with unprecedented pore density and novel morphology. Four different thin film stack systems including silicon nitride/silicon/silicon nitride (NSN), silicon dioxide/silicon/silicon nitride (OSN), silicon nitride/silicon/silicon dioxide (NSO), and silicon dioxide/silicon/silicon dioxide (OSO) are tested under different annealing temperatures. Generally the pore size, pore density, and porosity positively correlate with the annealing temperature for all four systems. The NSN system yields substantially higher porosity and pore density than the OSO system, with the OSN and NSO stack characteristics fallings between these extremes. The higher porosity of the Si membrane in the NSN stack is primarily due to the pore formation enhancement in the Si film. It is hypothesized that this could result from the interfacial energy difference between the silicon/silicon nitride and silicon/silicon dioxide, which influences the Si crystallization process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengzhu Qi
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, United States; Materials Science Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, United States
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Johnson DG, Khire TS, Lyubarskaya YL, Smith KJ, DesOrmeaux JPS, Taylor JG, Gaborski TR, Shestopalov AA, Striemer CC, McGrath JL. Ultrathin silicon membranes for wearable dialysis. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis 2013; 20:508-15. [PMID: 24206603 DOI: 10.1053/j.ackd.2013.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2013] [Revised: 08/02/2013] [Accepted: 08/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The development of wearable or implantable technologies that replace center-based hemodialysis (HD) hold promise to improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with ESRD. A prerequisite for these technologies is the development of highly efficient membranes that can achieve high toxin clearance in small-device formats. Here we examine the application of the porous nanocrystalline silicon (pnc-Si) to HD. pnc-Si is a molecularly thin nanoporous membrane material that is orders of magnitude more permeable than conventional HD membranes. Material developments have allowed us to dramatically increase the amount of active membrane available for dialysis on pnc-Si chips. By controlling pore sizes during manufacturing, pnc-Si membranes can be engineered to pass middle-molecular-weight protein toxins while retaining albumin, mimicking the healthy kidney. A microfluidic dialysis device developed with pnc-Si achieves urea clearance rates that confirm that the membrane offers no resistance to urea passage. Finally, surface modifications with thin hydrophilic coatings are shown to block cell and protein adhesion.
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High-performance, low-voltage electroosmotic pumps with molecularly thin silicon nanomembranes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:18425-30. [PMID: 24167263 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308109110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We have developed electroosmotic pumps (EOPs) fabricated from 15-nm-thick porous nanocrystalline silicon (pnc-Si) membranes. Ultrathin pnc-Si membranes enable high electroosmotic flow per unit voltage. We demonstrate that electroosmosis theory compares well with the observed pnc-Si flow rates. We attribute the high flow rates to high electrical fields present across the 15-nm span of the membrane. Surface modifications, such as plasma oxidation or silanization, can influence the electroosmotic flow rates through pnc-Si membranes by alteration of the zeta potential of the material. A prototype EOP that uses pnc-Si membranes and Ag/AgCl electrodes was shown to pump microliter per minute-range flow through a 0.5-mm-diameter capillary tubing with as low as 250 mV of applied voltage. This silicon-based platform enables straightforward integration of low-voltage, on-chip EOPs into portable microfluidic devices with low back pressures.
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