New Chapter Published in Supermacroporous Cryogels

Cryogels: Applications in Extracorporeal Affinity Therapy

Extracorporeal affinity therapies are directed at the removal of potential toxic substances including bilirubin, pathogenic antibodies, various circulating immune-complexes. cholesterol and so on from human plasma. The conventional extracorporeal therapies including plasma exchange, hemodialysis, hemofiltration and hemoperfusion are nonselective techniques. In addition, the requirement for plasma substitutes such as albumin is very high. Moreover, the dangers of hepatitis or immune reactions accompany these therapies while using plasma for plasma products. Today, one of the most promising procedures for extracorporeal therapy is specific affinity adsorption. Affinity adsorbents including nanoparticles, microspheres, membranes, monoliths, fibres and hollow fibres may be used in a hemoperfusion system, where blood is directly perfused through the column. Among these adsorbents, cryogels are considered a reasonable option for the removal of toxic substances from plasma. This type of application is effective, simple and inexpensive. In this chapter, some interesting cryogei applications on extracorporeal affinity therapies for the removal of toxic ...