Acrylonitrile - Acrylic Acid Copolymer Membrane Imprinted with Uric Acid for Clinical Uses

The preparation of new polymeric membranes
using molecular imprinting technology for application in
blood filtration devices is described. Membranes, based on an
acrylic acid-acrylonitrile copolymer, produced through phase
inversion, were modified by introducing specific binding sites
for uric acid into their structure. The materials prepared are
intended for use to selectively remove uric acid from the
blood in the case of increased serum uric acid values associated
with different pathologies. The interactions at a
molecular level between the membrane forming copolymer
and the template were investigated by means of calorimetry,
infrared spectroscopy and morphological analysis. The presence
of interactions between the template and the copolymer,
and a good thermal stability of the imprinted membranes
were observed. In addition, the results of rebinding tests on
the imprinted membranes indicated a good capacity of molecular
recognition for the template and satisfactory selectivity
properties towards compounds of similar structure such as
theophylline. Membrane permeability values suggest their
application as (ultra) haemofiltration devices.