Carbazate functionalized cellulose beads as potential scavengers specific for carbonylated proteins

Scavenging carbonylated proteins that are toxic substances inducing various diseases attract the most attention in the field of blood purification. In our study, functionalized cellulose beads modified by carbazate groups as affinity ligands of carbonyls were prepared for specific scavenging of carbonylated proteins based on the carbazate-aldehyde/ ketone reaction. Results showed that the carbazate-functionalized cellulose beads with different degrees of substitution (DS) maintained the original multi-porous structure with the diameter of about 50 μm and thermal stability. Spectroscopic and gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that the modified cellulose beads could effectively scavenge carbonylated proteins and the scavenging effects increased with the increase of DS. Thus, the carbazate functionalized cellulose beads may be developed as fillers in the column for the scavenging of carbonylated proteins.