Functionalized Carbon Nanotube-Embedded Poly(vinyl alcohol) Microspheres for Efficient Removal of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α

Abstract

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α has an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid and septic arthritis. Removal of excess tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a promising treatment. In this study, a series of functionalized carbon nanotube-embedded poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite adsorbents were prepared for TNF-α removal for the first time. The resulting nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, which demonstrated that carbon nanotubes were well-dispersed on the surface of PVA macroporous microspheres. Adsorption tests showed that the carboxylated carbon nanotube-embedded composite microspheres (PVA/MWCNTs-COOH) possessed much better adsorption capacity for TNF-α in both simulated serum solution and rat plasma compared to the aminated (PVA/MWCNTs-NH2) and raw carbon nanotube-embedded microspheres (PVA/MWCNTs-raw). In addition, the effects on hemolytic activity, the anticoagulant property, and the components of blood were negligible, indicating the excellent blood compatibility of composite beads. Our findings suggest that the carboxylated carbon nanotube-embedded composite microspheres may be potentially useful for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by removing TNF-α from the blood.

Applications of Carbon Nanotubes in the Internet of Things Era

“…The CNT-based devices show great promises in healthcare and biomedical devices. The CNT materials have shown efficient therapy in musculoskeletal tumors [67], restoration of neural activity [68], engineering vascularized oriented tissues [69], and treatment of cancer [70,71] as well as artificial joint materials [72]. Besides, CNT transistor-based sensors provide early diagnosis by acquiring the sodium concentration of sweat [73] and respiration gases [74].…”

Construction of Marigold-like Poly(vinyl alcohol) Microspheres for Catalytic Microreactors

“…This special morphology is expected to act as an ideal carrier for heterogeneous catalysts, profiting from the fact that larger specific surface areas and loading capacities can be obtained compared to that of PVA microspheres with conventional smooth surfaces. 19 It is well known that noble metal nanocrystals (Au, Pd, Pt, and Ag) possess an intrinsic large specific surface area, 20,21 chemical properties of stability, and are easy to synthesize, and thus can be used as nanocatalysts (e.g., hydrogenation, hydroformylation, cross-coupling reactions). 22 However, the high surface energy, low stability, and easy aggregation result in less exposure of their active sites, which hinders the catalytic performance.…”