Application of Bamboo Charcoal in Blood Purification: An In-vitro Study

Abstract

The charcoal capable of adsorbing toxin has been reported in many applications. The advantage of charcoal in blood purification is its ultra-high capacity of toxin adsorption. In the plasma perfusion where separated plasma or blood cells contact with adsorptive materials (charcoal in this study), it is worth conducting bioassay to verify whether the materials is non-toxic to blood components. Nowadays, the therapeutic apheresis has been adopted in various treatments of diseases, such as hepatic and renal failure. The plasma perfusion is one of the choices in therapeutic apheresis. In our study, we aimed to investigate the biocompatibility of bamboo charcoal for the apheresis application. The bamboo charcoal was obtained by carbonizing Taiwan bamboo, and its morphology and pore size were investigated. The residual heavy metals in bamboo charcoal were measured. In the biological assays, the cytotoxicity of fibroblast cells and hemolytic effect to red blood cells of the carbonized charcoal were studied. the adsorption behavior of bamboo charcoal in the albumin or L-phenylalanine solution was also conducted as a preliminary basis for future apheresis applications.