In vitro removal of human IgG by pseudobiospecific affinity membrane filtration on a large scale. A preliminary report.

We have developed a pseudobiospecific affinity membrane device for selective removal of human IgG from plasma or serum in vitro for clinical apheresis application. The pseudobiospecific affinity ligand L-histidine was immobilized through an ether linkage onto poly(ethylenevinyl alcohol) hollow fiber cartridge. The obtained affinity membranes showed high selectivity for IgG adsorption from untreated human serum. These membranes are able to adsorb IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 if Mops buffer is used, and more selectively IgG1, and IgG3 in Tris-HCl buffer. With respect to the binding capacity, the pseudobiospecific affinity membrane used showed a higher capacity as compared to protein A-membranes described in the literature. Due to the high capacity, specificity and stability of the histidine affinity membranes, in addition to their lower cost, the approach proposed in this paper may offer a useful alternative to protein A based devices in the treatment of immune-related diseases.