Preparation of polyamidoamine dendrons supported on chitosan microspheres and the adsorption of bilirubin

Abstract The aim of this study was to prepare a new adsorbent for bilirubin (BR); low generation (G, G ≤4) hexanediamine‐containing polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrons were supported on chitosan (CS) microspheres (CS‐Gn, n = 0,1,2,3,4). The adsorption properties of this novel adsorbent for BR in aqueous solution were examined. The adsorption percentages were over 70% at 0.5 h and over 90% at 1 h. The adsorption capacity was up to 43 mg/g and was not yet saturated. The BR adsorption increased with increasing temperature and increasing BR initial concentration and was the highest at pH 7.4; it decreased slightly with increasing ionic strength and occurred even in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). We observed that the CS–Gn microspheres had satisfactory competitive abilities with BSA, although the adsorption percentage decreased a certain extent in the presence of BSA. In addition, the CS–Gn microspheres were easier to prepare than the usual PAMAM dendrimers. In summary, this adsorbent is a promising biomedical material for BR removal for artificial liver supported systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013