Preparation of grafted polytetrafluoroethylene fibers and adsorption of bilirubin

BACKGROUND: A successful hemoperfusion technique requires that the adsorbent for bilirubin should have a high specificity, adsorption capacity and adsorption rate, blood compatibility and no toxicity. Compared with polymer microbeads, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fibers have many advantages. The aim of the work reported here was to prepare a new polytetrafluoroethylene-graft-poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-block-polyethyleneimine (PTFE-g-PGMA-b-PEI) adsorbent for bilirubin based on PTFE fibers by the Co-60 radiation-induced graft polymerization of GMA followed by the chemical modification of the epoxy groups on the PTFE-g-PGMA fibers with PEI. In addition, the adsorption properties of this novel adsorbent for bilirubin were examined. RESULTS: The highest content of amino groups obtained on the PTFE-g-PGMA-b-PEI fibers was 1.87 mmol g(-1). The maximum adsorption capacity of the grafted fibers was 9.6 mg g(-1) at pH = 6.5. Bilirubin adsorption on these fibers obeyed the Langmuir model. Also, these fibers possessed the ability to selectively adsorb bilirubin in the presence of bovine serum albumin. CONCLUSION: The PTFE-g-PGMA-b-PEI fibers have a high adsorption capacity for bilirubin and excellent adsorption properties. In addition, this new adsorbent is inexpensive, easy to prepare and has no toxicity. So the PTFE-g-PGMA-b-PEI fibers as a biomedical adsorbent are promising for the removal of bilirubin through the hemoperfusion technique. (C) 2009 Society of Chemical Industry