Determination of the Quantitative Relationships between the Synthesis Conditions of Macroporous Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) Microparticles and the Characteristics of Their Behavior as Adsorbents Using Bovine Serum Albumin as a Model Macromolecule

Abstract

The adsorption properties of macroporous polymeric microparticles are dependent on their porous structure, which, in turn, is dependent on the synthesis conditions of the adsorbent material. In the present work, we have investigated whether it is feasible to find a quantitative relationship between the synthesis conditions of macroporous poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) adsorbent microparticles and their behavior in the adsorption of a protein of intermediate size. For this purpose, 10 types of such microparticles were synthesized from reactive mixtures with different divinylbenzene (cross-linker) and n-heptane (diluent) contents, and the equilibrium isotherms and adsorption kinetics of a model protein (the bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein) were studied. The results allowed us to determine some quantitative relationships that, within the limits of this research, permit the synthesis of adsorbents with predetermined adsorption properties. Thus, the model obtained, relating the synthesis conditions of the adsorbents to the adsorption equilibrium, reveals that the higher the divinylbenzene concentration and the higher the diluent content, the higher the maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbents for this protein. With regard to adsorption kinetics, the fastest adsorption was achieved with the lowest divinylbenzene concentration and the highest diluent concentration.

Application of cluster analysis and optimization to determine the synthesis conditions of macroreticular poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) microparticles with enhanced structural and adsorption properties

“…With regard to the study of the mechanical stability of the microparticles, many tests on microparticles synthesized under [1,2]. b Taking into account the good reproducibility of the results obtained from the structural characterization, it was considered that the values of q m for the replicated microparticles (ads.…”

“…c The diffusivity values for microparticles whose synthesis is described here were determined by applying the model described elsewhere [2], using the coded values of %DVB and F m obtained from the Global coded scheme followed in ref. [1,2]. These values are shown in brackets.…”

“…The operating procedure employed to obtain the adsorption equilibrium isotherms of BSA on each type of adsorbent has been described elsewhere [2]. Briefly, samples of each type of microparticles, pretreated with methanol, were placed in a column and washed with 10 column volumes of buffer.…”

“…In recent years, macroreticular polymeric microparticles, in particular those based on poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene), have been widely used as adsorbents owing to their high physical and chemical stability, and their permanent porous structure [1][2][3][4][5]. The porous structure of microparticles is due to the hollow space that is left after the removal of the inert organic diluent (porogen) added to the monomeric mixture during the polymerization reaction.…”

The Spherical Cleavage Behavior of Polydivinylbenzene during Suspension Polymerization

“…In general, styrene (St) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were usually co-polymerized for generation of porous microspheres [1][2][3][4][5]. Recently, we synthesized macroporous microspheres with DVB as the sole monomer [6][7][8][9].…”