Macroporous cellulose/carbon nanotube microspheres prepared by surfactant micelle swelling strategy for rapid and high-capacity adsorption of bilirubin

It remains a formidable challenge to construct high-performance haemoperfusion adsorbents with fast adsorption kinetic and high adsorption capacity for efficiently removing bilirubin from human blood. In this work, we report a facile yet efficient strategy to manufacture lysine-modified macroporous cellulose/carbon nanotube microspheres (LMCMs) by surfactant micelles swelling strategy followed by modification with lysine. The macroporous structure not only provides wide channels for fast mass transfer, but also shortens the diffusion path into meso/micropores, increasing the accessibility of mesopores and micropores. Experimental results reveal that LMCMs can remove bilirubin with fast adsorption kinetic (> 90% of its equilibrium uptake within 2 h) and high adsorption capacity of 338.14 mg/g. More importantly, the adsorbent can remove about 79% of bilirubin in rabbit serum, and the bilirubin concentration in rabbit serum decreases from 213.36 to 45.78 mg/L within 2 h, indicating a very appealing application prospect.