UNAIR NEWS – Heart is the most important organ of human body. Currently, the number of people with kidney failure was more increase. The dialysis treatment costs a lot of money. By the fact, student of Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) discovered and attempted designing solution for optimal hemodialysis treatment.

“The medical treatment of kidney failure in Indonesia was limited by the expensive cost and dialysis equipment whereas the people with kidney failure are about to 3000 person, and mostly, it led to death. Thus, we attempt helping to find the solution,”Januardi Wardana said, the leader of Student Creativity Program Exacta Research (PKM PE) of FST UNAIR.

The others members of the team are Bella Prelina, Ahya Isyatir Rodliyah, and Zakiyatus Syukriyah. They wrote their innovation into research proposal of PKM 2017 and acquired funding by DIKTI. The proposal entitled “Potensi Cation Exchanger Zeolit A Sebagai Hemoadsorben Penderita Gagal Ginjal” / (“Potential Cation Exchanger Zeolite A As Hemoadsorben of Kidney Failure Patient)

Kidney has a role to filter metabolic wastes. So when the kidney fails to maintain the metabolic waste, so it leads to kidney failure. The main causes of kidney failure include unhealthy lifestyle and problem with increased toxin uremic in blood.

There are various types of uremic toxin; one of them is creatinine which is an organic acid that has a nitrogen group and produced in the human body, especially in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Physiologically, the normal concentration of creatinine in the blood is 1.2 to 5 mg / dL. If it exceeds the limit, it can be categorized as a disease of renal failure.

“Meanwhile, the Hemodialysis process usually takes times, so the patient feels the pain and discomfort. Therefore, it needs another equipment to enhance the quality of hemodialysis. Through PKM-PE we observe the ability of zeolite and imprinted zeolite creatinine to adsorption creatinine,” Januardi said.

The research was conducted in Universitas Airlangga and AMTEC, Malaysia. This research started by making zeolite first. The main material is sodium aluminate, silicon dioxide, and water. The zeolite making used hydrothermal method on 100 Celsius.

“While Imprinted zeolite is a zeolite that has been imprinted with pores creatinine. To make it, we add the creatinine solution to the zeolite suspension and extract it with hot water until the pH is neutral, so our expectations of the formed  zeolite pores have a similarity to the creatinine pores and the faster adsorption process takes place, “added Bella Prelina, Team members.

The zeolite use because it is easy in its synthesis and has great potential in the absorption of metabolic waste in patients with kidney failure. Zeolites have unique physical and chemical properties, which include dehydration, adsorbent and molecular filters, catalysts and ion exchangers. The properties of zeolites as adsorbents and molecular filters are also possible as high-accuracy hemoadsorbent-driven materials, it makes them selective adsorbents and have high adsorption effectiveness.

“In this research we made zeolite and the imprinted pores zeolite. We look for the ability of adsorption in various adsorption times,”Zakiyatus Syukriyah

Januardi stated that within 15 minutes, the zeolite was able to adsorb 40 percent of creatinine. Meanwhile the imprinted zeolite adsorbed about 60%. Between those, imprinted zeolites have a greater ability than the regular zeolite.

“Imprinted zeolite was more selective. It also proof that zeolite has ability as uremic toxin adsorbent, so it has potential as creatinine hemodialysis,” Janurdi added

Editor: Bambang Bes