Bilirubin removal performance of immobilized albumin in a magnetically stabilized fluidized bed

Human serum albumin (HSA)-immobilised magnetic poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (mPHEMA) particles were investigated as an adsorbent for selective bilirubin removal from human plasma in a magnetically stabilized fluidized bed system. mPHEMA particles were prepared by suspension polymerization in the presence of Fe3O4 particles. mPHEMA particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface area and pore size measurements. The mPHEMA beads have a spherical shape and porous structure. The specific surface area of the mPHEMA particles was found to be 50 m2/g with a size range of 80-120 microm in diameter and the swelling ratio was 45%. Then, HSA was covalently coupled to the cyanogen bromide (CNBr)-activated mPHEMA particles. The amount of coupled HSA was arranged by changing the activation degree of particles (i.e., CNBr concentration). In vitro bilirubin removal was investigated from hyperbilirubinemic human plasma on the mPHEMA particles containing different amounts of immobilised HSA (between 11 and 100 mg/g). The non-specific bilirubin adsorption on the bare mPHEMA particles was 0.47 mg/g. Higher bilirubin adsorption capacities, up to 88.3 mg/g, were obtained with the HSA-immobilised magnetic particles. Bilirubin capacity decreased significantly from 75.0 mg/g to 40.0 mg/g polymer with the increase of the flow-velocity from 0.5 ml/min to 4.0 ml/min. Bilirubin adsorption increased with increasing temperature. Adsorption behavior of bilirubin could be modelled using the Langmuir isotherm.