Antibody-modified conduits for extracorporeal selective cytokine filtration in sepsis

Abstract

Sepsis kills millions of people worldwide each year and occurs when microorganisms enter the bloodstream of an infected host. The presence of microorganisms in the bloodstream triggers the body to produce many inflammatory proteins, known as cytokines, that cause damage to blood vessels and vital organs. This leads to capillary leak, failing organs, and often death. We have developed a novel approach to modulate the inflammatory response, using antibody-modified conduits (AMCs) to filter harmful cytokines selectively from the circulation and in a time-specific manner. Here, we characterize variables that affect AMC performance to determine optimal AMC conditions for later use downstream.