CELLMEMBRANE: Development of delignified nanocellulose based gas transfer scaffold membrane for artificial lung applications

Lung disease is the third biggest cause of deaths globally. For the irreversible and terminal lung disease patients, lung transplantation is the only long-term therapy. Due to the unavailability the suitable donors, there is not only a minimum of 18 months of wait on the organ donation. Patients who eventually secure a lung transplant have lessthan 20% chance of recovery due to ‘poor organ function’. Therefore, there is not only a great need for an artificial lung as a permanent replacement organ but also as a bridge to transplantation. Existing artificial lung devices fail to mimic the flow gas exchange properties of a human lung and suffer from low biocompatibility, leading to undesired blood coagulation and hemolysis which limits their applicability to up to 30 days. The complexity and risk associated with current artificial lung technologies mean that they are not offered aslong-term lung replacements or as a suitable bridge to transplantation. Through this 36 months EIC pathfinder project, the consortium led by Smart Reactors Ireland, aims to develop the world’s first biobased nanomaterial ‘nanocellulose’ to manufacture an artificial lung device used as a bridge to lung transplantation. The consortium will develop an initial proof of concept nanocellulose device to demonstrate gas transfer and initial hemocompatibility in blood. The proposed approach is expected to have two benefits, the first is that blood flow can occur in laminar flow conditions reducing haemolysis and damage to the blood. Secondly, nanocellulose, has the potential to be endothelialized which would allow for long term gas exchange without the need for systemic anticoagulants.