Journal of Hygiene

Table of Contents - 1986 - Volume 97, Issue 01  

Research Article

The adsorption of endotoxin molecule in a microporous polyethylene hollow fibre membrane

Yosuke Sawadaa1 p1, Reiko Fujiia1, Ikuo Igamia1, Atsushi Kawaia1, Teruo Kamikia2 and Makoto Niwaa3†

a1 Product and Development Centre, Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd, Higashiku, Nagoya 461, Japan

a2 Public Health Research Institute of Kobe City, Chuoku, Kobe 650, Japan

a3 Osaka City University Medical School, Department of Bacteriology, Abenoku, Osaka 545, Japan

Abstract

The microporous polyethylene hollow fibre membrane is capable of adsorbing small-sized lipopolysaccharides (LPS) prepared by sonication dispersion, column chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and filtration through a filter membrane with a nominal pore size of 0·025 μg. Small-sized LPS had a one-thousandth of endotoxin activity as compared to intact LPS, when determined by the Synthetic Chromogenic Substrate method of LAL with a specific endotoxin activity of 73·7 ng/μg LPS. Fluorescent microscopy of fluorescein conjugated LPS on a microporous polyethylene hollow fibre showed that fiuorescein-LPS was adsorbed through the entire depth of the membrane texture. Accordingly the adsorption capacity of the filter for small-sized LPS was determined as 1·65 mg LPS/3·68 m2 surface/116 mg fibre/module.

(Received November 27 1985)

(Accepted February 28 1986)

Correspondence:

p1 Present address: Bristol-Myers Research Institute, Shimomeguro, Meguroku, Tokyo 153, Japan.

Footnotes

† To whom all correspondence should be addressed.

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