EFFECT OF THE PORE-SIZE OF AN AMINATED POLY(GAMMA-METHYL L-GLUTAMATE) ADSORBENT ON THE SELECTIVE REMOVAL OF ENDOTOXIN

A novel adsorbent for the selective removal of endotoxin from various protein solutions has been prepared. The adsorbent comprises aminated poly(gamma-methyl L-glutamate) (PMLG) spheres. The larger is the number of incorporated amino groups, the larger is the endotoxin-adsorption capacity of the adsorbent, the smaller is the pore size (exclusion of molecular weight; M(lim)) of the adsorbents, the smaller is the number of various proteins adsorbed. When M(lim) was smaller than 300 (as the molecular weight of polysaccharide) and the amino-group content was 3.2 meq/g, the adsorbent selectively removed endotoxin from various endotoxin-containing samples, such as protein solutions, without affecting the effective substances, even at such a high ionic strength (mu) of 0.2-0.4. Consequently, aminated PMLG spheres with a certain pore size are considered to be a useful adsorbent for the removal of endotoxin from drugs and fluids for injection.