###An engineering method for the provision of microplastics-free water to haemodialysis systems in hospitals
Project ID: 2228bd1042 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Engineering
UCL Lead department: Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE)
Lead Supervisor: Luiza Campos
Project Summary:
Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5mm that are found in all kinds of water (surface, ocean, domestic and wastewater) but also in human blood and stool samples. There have been several studies focusing on microplastic contamination of water, but none on contamination of dialysis water used to treat patients with kidney failure. During kidney dialysis treatments between 6 to 40 L of dialysis water can pass directly into the patient’s blood. Dialysis water is made from tap water which is treated by multi-media filters and reverse osmosis. However, most connectors, tanks, and pipes used in making dialysis water are made of plastic. It is now critical moment in time to introduce technologies and protocols for the safety of patients. Our research group has evidence that microplastics are not effectively removed by some filtration systems and during the treatment these particles may generate harmful substances. Therefore, our hypothesis is that the hospital water treatment does not effectively remove microplastics and their harmful substances, so these micropollutants could pass into the blood stream of haemodialysis patients. This research aims to engineer a method to remove microplastics from dialysis water. An initial inspection will identify potential points of water contamination and sampling locations in the dialysis water circuit. Water samples from these key points will be collected, nano-filtered and inspected for microplastics using microscopy, and plastic particles quantified by image software, and their sub-products analysed through advanced techniques (spectroscopy and mass spectrometry). This is a 3-year research collaboration between a multi-disciplinary team from the UCL Departments of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Renal Medicine, Chemistry Department, and Kingston University (Chemistry Dept) and Federal Institute of Pernambuco, Brazil. Results of the research will be published in open access journals, conferences and social media. This research will benefit millions of patients who require haemodialysis.