End stage renal disease has been a major medical problem worldwide for many years.  Although great advances have been made in the manufacturing of dialysis membranes over the past decades, the current artificial kidneys remain inefficient in removing middle and larger molecular weight substances when compared to the human kidney.  Dr. Huang of Widener’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has developed a novel hemodialyzer based on a previously developed nanoporous membrane.  This new hemodialyzer will optimize the effectiveness of dialysis therapy and improve the survival rate of dialysis patients, creating a better quality of life for these patients.  One critical component of the performance evaluation of the nanoporous structure is its biocompatibility. We are conducting a number of assays to determine the feasibility of the membranes use in kidney dialysis treatment.  The biocompatibility tests performed to date are the testing for adsorption or absorption of serum proteins to the alumina dialysis membrane, testing for leakage or leaching of the alumina from the dialysis membrane into the blood and dialysate. measurement of deleterious effects on the biological activity of the blood caused by the alumina dialysis membrane, testing for membrane