Selective adsorption of globulin on nanofiber meshes for immunoadsorption therapy

Abstract

Immunoadsorption is an effective therapy for patients with autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a simple and cost-effective method to remove immunogloblin selectively using surface-functionalised nanofiber meshes. The surface carboxylation of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) was successfully achieved by the reaction of hydroxyl groups on the EVOH nanofiber surface with anhydride groups of maleic anhydride. The resulting nanofiber meshes have an average diameter of approximately 450–630 nm. The fluid flux capacity was shown to be maintained after surface modification. The nanofiber meshes exhibited a high γ-globulin adsorption capacity of 5.6 mg g⁻¹ within 12.5 h. Of particular interest was that the adsorption ratio of γ-globulin to albumin on the carboxylated nanofiber was 2.1, while there was no significant difference on bare nanofibers. These data indicated that the surface carboxylation of EVOH was a very effective method to improve selective adsorption performance of γ-globulin for immunoadsorption therapy.