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dialysis

(dī-ăl'ĭ-sĭs) pronunciation

n., pl. -ses (-sēz').

The separation of smaller molecules from larger molecules or of dissolved substances from colloidal particles in a solution by selective diffusion through a semipermeable membrane.
Hemodialysis.

[Greek dialusis, separating, dissolution, from dialūein, to break up, dissolve : dia-, apart; see dia– + lūein, to loosen.]

dialytic di'a·lyt'ic (-ə-lĭt'ĭk) adj.
dialytically di'a·lyt'i·cal·ly adv.

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Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Dialysis

A process of selective diffusion through a membrane by dissolved solutes in liquid solution. As dialysis is usually carried out, the membrane permits the diffusion of low-molecular-weight solutes (crystalloids) but prevents the passage of colloidal and high-molecular-weight solutes (macro-molecules). Membranes suitable for this purpose include vegetable parchment, animal parchment, goldbeater's skin (peritoneal membranes of cattle), fish bladders, dialyzing cellophane (Visking sausage casing), and collodion (nitrocellulose deposited from alcohol-ether solution).

The solution is contained within such a membrane. The low-molecular-weight solutes are removed by placing pure solvent outside the membrane. This solvent is changed periodically or continuously until the concentration of diffusible solutes in the solution is reduced to near zero. The technique is used extensively in separating and purifying macro-molecules of biological origin.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: dialysis

In chemistry, separation of suspended colloidal (see colloid) particles from dissolved ions or small molecules via their unequal rates of diffusion through pores of semipermeable membranes (e.g., parchment, collodion, cellophane). A slow process, dialysis may be accelerated by heating or by applying an electric field if the particles are charged.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: dialysis

(dīăl'ĭsĭs) , in chemistry, transfer of solute (dissolved solids) across a semipermeable membrane. Strictly speaking, dialysis refers only to the transfer of the solute; transfer of the solvent is called osmosis. Dialysis is frequently used to separate different components of a solution. For example, a solution of starch and sodium chloride in water can be separated by placing the mixture in a vessel on one side of a semipermeable membrane and placing pure water on the other side. The smaller particles of sodium chloride (which dissolve in water to form sodium and chloride ions) will diffuse across the membrane; diffusion of the much larger starch particles (which are not truly in solution but are in colloidal suspension) is hindered and may be completely prevented. By continuously or periodically replacing the solvent with fresh solvent, almost all of the sodium chloride can be removed. The method was originated by Thomas Graham, who termed the substance that remained within the membrane a colloid and the substance that diffused a crystalloid.

An extension of the method makes possible the separation of mixed colloids by the use of a semipermeable membrane (usually synthetic) of known selectivity, i.e., one that will permit the diffusion of one colloid and hinder the diffusion of others. Mixed macromolecules, such as proteins, may be similarly separated. By the use of graded semipermeable membranes chosen to allow successively smaller molecules to pass, mixtures can be separated into components of graded ranges of molecular weight.

Hemodialysis

Artificial kidney machines have been developed that make use of dialysis to purify the blood of persons whose kidneys have ceased to function. Known as hemodialysis, this procedure has saved the lives of many persons suffering from renal failure. In such machines, blood is circulated on one side of a semipermeable membrane (often cellophane) while a special dialysis fluid is circulated on the other side. The dialysis fluid must be a solution that closely matches the chemical composition of the blood. Metabolic waste products such as urea and creatinine diffuse through the membrane into the dialysis fluid and are discarded, while loss by diffusion of substances necessary to the body (such as sodium chloride) is prevented by their presence in the dialysis fluid.

In peritoneal hemodialysis, the dialysis fluid is introduced into the abdominal cavity. Waste products leach from the blood vessels into the fluid, which is later drained from the patient. Home peritoneal dialysis machines that release patients from dependence on hospital dialysis (usually three 4-hr visits weekly) have been available since the 1980s. See diffusion.

Health Dictionary: dialysis

(deye-al-uh-sis)

The separation of large molecules from small molecules by passage through a membrane.

A common treatment for kidney disease is the use of a dialysis machine to filter toxic substances from the blood, a function that the kidneys normally perform.

Veterinary Dictionary: dialysis

The diffusion of solute molecules through a semipermeable membrane, passing from the side of higher concentration to that of the lower; a method sometimes used in cases of defective renal function to remove from the blood elements that are normally excreted in the urine (hemodialysis). The principles of dialysis are utilized in renal dialysis with a hemodialyzer (hemodialysis) and in peritoneal dialysis.

extracorporeal d. — dialysis by a hemodialyzer. See hemodialysis.
peritoneal d. — dialysis through the peritoneum, the dialyzing solution being introduced into and removed from the peritoneal cavity, as either a continuous or an intermittent procedure. See also peritoneal dialysis.

Wikipedia: dialysis (biochemistry)

In biochemistry, dialysis is the process of separating molecules in solution by the difference in their rates of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, such as dialysis tubing.

Dialysis is a common laboratory technique, and operates on the same principle as medical dialysis. Typically a solution of several types of molecules is placed into a semipermeable dialysis bag, such as a cellulose membrane with pores, and the bag is sealed. The sealed dialysis bag is placed in a container of a different solution, or pure water. Molecules small enough to pass through the tubing (often water, salts and other small molecules) tend to move into or out of the dialysis bag, in the direction of decreasing concentration. Larger molecules (often proteins, DNA, or polysaccharides) that have dimensions significantly greater than the pore diameter are retained inside the dialysis bag. One common reason for using this technique would be to remove the salt from a protein solution. The technique will not distinguish between proteins effectively.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		Health Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more
		Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dialysis (biochemistry)". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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