Advanced Polymer Technology Filters Blood

An adsorbent polymer bead technology offers a clinical benefit to patients in the through of sepsis by filtering out some of the toxins associated with septic shock.

The CytoSorb hemopurifier device acts by reducing the level of cytokines, which trigger dangerous inflammation and immune system responses. The device's technology is based on porous, adsorbent polymer beads that target molecules up to 50 kDa such as pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines like interleukine 1 (IL-1), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and IL-10, which are associated with sepsis. The adsorbent polymer beads have a porous surface, and use size-selectivity for filtering toxins from blood and other physiologic fluids. The beads contain pores that are large enough to allow toxins to enter and adhere to the bead through hydrophobic interactions with the neutral lipophylic surface of the polymer while allowing large essential blood proteins to pass around the beads through the filter, and back into the patient. The CytoSorb is a product of MedaSorb Technologies (Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA). The company is planning to obtain European Community's (CE) Mark.

Sepsis is characterized as a complex syndrome, defined as a range of clinical conditions caused by the body's systemic response to an infection. Sepsis often develops into severe sepsis accompanied by single or multiple organ dysfunctions and is a major cause of mortality, killing approximately 1,400 people worldwide every day.


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MedaSorb Technologies