The use of polyamide coatings for selective adsorption control on activated charcoal

Polymer-coated, activated charcoal granules have found considerable use for the direct detoxification of blood in cases of uraemia and drug overdose. Although polymer coating materials are presently selected for their biocompatibility, more selective polymers could be used to increase the adsorption capacity for specific drugs and toxins. To gain an understanding of the fundamental factors influencing these adsorbent systems, we have investigated a possible selective coating material, nylon 6 and studied its influence on adsorption rates of simple model compounds when applied as a thin coat to activated charcoal granules. Thermodynamic studies have shown that phenolic compounds interact with the polymer by a hydrogen bonding mechanism, whereas nonphenolic compounds probably bind less strongly due to Van der Waals type interactions. Kinetic studies have shown that the selectivity of charcoal granules for phenolic compounds was increased by coating the granules with a thin layer of nylon 6. The increase in selectivity is probably a result of the different binding mechanism between solute and the polymer. These studies have shown that possible selective coatings may be evaluated more effectively on the basis of simple preliminary drug-plastics interaction studies.