A novel recyclable hemoperfusion adsorbent based on TiO nanotube arrays for the selective removal of β-microglobulin.

Prolonged and excessive accumulation of β-microglobulin (βm) in the blood can lead to various kidney-related and other diseases. Currently, the most effective method of removing βm from the blood is hemoperfusion. Although some traditional hemoperfusion adsorbents such as cellulose and polystyrene microspheres have been used for the removal of βm, their selectivity still needs improvement. Immunosorbents have been developed to address this issue, but high cost and limited application are concerns. TiO nanotube arrays (TNTAs) have shown great potential in adsorption-related biomedical applications. In this study, we designed and developed a novel TNTA-based hemoperfusion adsorbent for the removal of βm, which has demonstrated good biocompatibility, selectivity, and reusability. We investigated the βm adsorption capacities of TNTAs with different pore sizes. The results indicate that TNTAs with a pore size matching the size of βm exhibit higher adsorption capacity while also having lower adsorption capacity for albumin, showing the importance of pore size on the selectivity of adsorbents. Additionally, green regeneration of TNTAs is achieved the photocatalytic activity originating from TiO. Even after five cycles, the adsorption capacity of TNTAs remained above 70%. Our work demonstrates that inorganic materials with ordered pores are capable to be candidates for hemoperfusion, possessing advantages over traditional organic materials such as high stability, security, and low cost.