Polydopamine-assisted immobilization of L-serine onto PES electrospun fiber membrane for effective endotoxin removal

Hemoperfusion, as one of the methods of blood purification, could effectively treat endotoxemia. Electrospun fiber membranes were widely used in the field of hemoperfusion because of the high porosity and specific surface area. In this study, a novel endotoxin removal polyethersulfone (PES) electrospun fiber membrane was manufactured by immobilizing l-serine (L-Ser) onto PES fiber membrane, where polydopamine (PDA) as a mediated active coating. The morphology and structural characterization exhibited the successful modification of PDA and immobilization of L-Ser. The adsorption kinetics and isothermal adsorption of the PES/PDA-Ser fiber membrane demonstrated an adsorption capacity of 1.28 EU/mg with the equilibrium adsorption time about 1 h, which indicated a great adsorption performance. In addition, the PES/PDA-Ser fiber membrane displayed an excellent selectively endotoxin removal efficiency of 0.85 EU/mg and anti-protein adsorption capacity in serum system. Besides, hemolysis, coagulation and protein assays showed that the PES/PDA-Ser fiber membrane had a good hemocompatibility and excellent anti-protein adsorption performance. These results illustrated the promising application potential of the PES/PDA-Ser fiber membrane for the treatment of endotoxemia.