The affinity filtration technique using histidine as a pseudobiospecific ligand immobilized on poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol) hollow fiber membranes (His-PEVA) was used to remove autoantibodies from serum of patients with autoimmune disease. The effects of buffering solution conditions on the efficiency of autoantibodies removal was studied. The removal of anti-dsDNA, anti-SS-A/Ro, anti-Sm, anti-Sm/RNP and anti-cardiolipin autoantibodies present in the serum was investigated, comparing the efficiency between Hepes and Tris-HCl buffers. The results showed the potential of the membrane to remove all the autoantibodies studied. Anti SS-A/Ro was removed more efficiently in Tris-HCl buffer system rather than with the Hepes buffer.
autoantibodies; auto-immune diseases; extracorporeal circulation; histidine; affinity membranes
