The SCNCM Solution
In twenty years,
kidney failure will be treated and cured through a single surgery to replace the
failed kidney with an artificial one and an injection of Self-Constructing
Nano-Collector Molecules, or SCNCM. After a few regular check-ups, the patient
will never have to think about their condition again.
Nano-collectors are self-assembling molecules which selectively bond to impurities within the bloodstream. A specialized nano-collector molecule will be designed to bond to each different impurity or toxin. These molecules will be injected during or after the kidney replacement surgery. The amount of each nano-collector injected would correspond to the patient and how much of each toxin his or her body produces. The molecules would freely flow through the bloodstream, bonding to the multiple targeted toxin molecules and eliminating the harmful effect of the impurity. These nano-collectors (with the attached toxins) would continue through the bloodstream until they reached the artificial kidney.
The implanted artificial kidney would be the same shape and size of the natural kidney and will work similarly. The replacement kidney would be made of a tough, yet flexible material (such as Kevlar) and would allow the same blood flow rate as a natural kidney via the same blood vessels. The nano-collectors, suspended in the blood, would flow into the artificial kidney and be forced by normal blood pressure into one of hundreds of thousands of minute tubes. The nano-collectors with the attached toxins would then come into contact with two Artificial Selectively Permeable Membranes (ASPMs). These membranes permit particles to pass based on size and atomic weight. The nano-collectors coming into contact with the first membrane at an angle to blood flow will break apart due to a catalyst contained in the atomic structure of the membrane, thereby releasing the toxin. The toxin will then pass through the first membrane designed to be permeable only to toxins and specific amounts of water, and move down a tube which leads to the bladder and urinary system.