Removal of non-transferrin-bound iron from blood with iron overload using a device with immobilized desferrioxamine.

An extracorporeal hollow-fiber device with immobilized desferrioxamine (DFO) was developed for the removal of nontransferrin-bound iron (NTBI) from blood, without the toxicity of parenteral chelation. When blood circulates through the fibers having pores with 30 kD cut-off, non-transferrin-bound-iron (NTBI) crosses the fiber pores and is chelated by the immobilized desferrioxamine. Removal of circulating iron stimulates iron release from larger proteins and tissue stores, establishing continuous iron flow to the immobilized chelator.

Reducing toxicity of cisplatin in cancer chemotherapy by extracorporeal removal of excess cisplatin.

Cisplatin and its derivatives are today among the most frequently used agents for treatment of malignancies, the dose, however, is limited by side effects. When an organ or extremity with tumor has a single, well defined artery, cisplatin can be delivered into the tumor, and cisplatin leaving the tumor through the venous drainage can be removed before it empties into the systemic circulation. We developed a hollow fiber device with an immobilized platinum chelator for extracorporeal removal of cisplatin, without the chelator entering the blood.

Treatment of lead poisoning with an immobilized chelator comparison with conventional therapy.

Lead poisoning is a global public health problem. In pregnant women it may result in developmental delays of the fetus, in children it my produce learning disability. Available chelators are nephrotoxic when eliminated as lead-chelator complexes.

"Heterophile" antigen in sera of human recipients of renal allografts.

It was noted that many sera of patients with renal allograft produce distinct precipitation lines in gel diffusion tests with about 20% of infectious mononucleosis sera. The antibodies in infectious mononucleosis sera were of IgM isotope, but, interestingly, they could be removed by guinea pig kidney homogenate, which indicated that the reactions studied were of the Hanganutziu-Deicher rather than of the Paul-Bunnell type. This contention was strengthened by the fact that positive transplantation sera reacted also with standard serum with Hanganutziu-Deicher antibodies.

Treatment of aluminum overload using a cartridge with immobilized desferrioxamine.

Intravenous desferrioxamine (DFO) is the method commonly used to treat aluminum toxicity. This laboratory has developed a hollow fiber device with immobilized DFO, an "Aluminum DFO-HP" (DFO-HP), for the purpose of removing aluminum without the chelator (DFO) entering the blood. With Food and Drug Administration approval, a polysulfone DFO-HP, placed in the extracorporeal circuit in series with the patient's customary dialyzer, was tested for its safety and ability to remove aluminum in patients with ESRD who had aluminum overload.