The Revival of Sorbents in Chronic Dialysis Treatment

Interest in the use of sorbents in chronic dialysis treatment has undergone a revival in the last decades, for which two major factors are responsible. The first is the potential of sorbents as adjunct therapy for the removal of substances that are difficult to remove by conventional dialysis therapies. The second is their use in regeneration of dialysate, which is of pivotal importance in the design of portable or even wearable treatments, next to the potential for reducing water use during conventional dialysis treatment. Sorbent-enhanced dialysis with synthetic polymers was associated with a reduction in inflammatory parameters as compared to hemodialysis and even associated with improved survival in smaller studies, although this needs to be confirmed in large randomized trials. Incorporation of sorbents within a dialysis membrane (mixed matrix membrane) appears a promising way forward to reduce the complexity and costs of a dual therapy but needs to be tested in vivo. For regeneration of dialysate, at present, a combination of urease, zirconium-based sorbents, and activated charcoal is used. Next to sodium release by the sorbent in exchange for ammonium and the CO₂ release by the hydrolysis of urea has been a bottleneck in the design of wearable devices, although short-term trials have been performed. Still, for widespread and flexible application of sorbent-assisted portable or wearable devices, a direct urea sorbent would be a major asset. In the near future, it will likely become apparent whether sorbent-assisted dialysis techniques are feasible for routine implementation in clinical practice.