Endotoxin removal by affinity sorbents

Affinity sorbents and detoxification strategies are described to remove different amounts of endotoxin. Advantages and disadvantages of the employed ligands are discussed and it is shown that both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions contribute to the association of ligands and endotoxins. Furthermore, the flexibility of the ligand is more important than an exact structural match between li.-and and ligate. Owing to the formation of endotoxin micelles and vesicles, microfiltration membrane adsorbers are particularly effective since mass transfer restrictions are almost absent in the flow-through pores. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.